Subdivision of the tiger

The scientific name for tiger is Panthera tigris.

The full scientific name of the tiger is: Animalia Chordata Mammalia Carnivora Felidae Panthera Tigris

The tiger is subdivided in 8 subspecies. This subdivision is mainly based on the area they are found; there are not many differences between the subspecies. The greatest difference is probably the difference in size; the size is proportional to the size of their most important prey. The result is that the Siberian tiger, that lives in the cold north, is generally bigger than his brothers.

The scientific name of each sub sort is a composition from the name of the sort, Panthera Tigris and a suffix, different for each sub sort.

From the originally 8 known tiger species there are 5 species still alive, 3 are extinct already.

The 5 living species are:

The Siberian tiger
→ Panthera tigris altaica
This tiger lives in the East of Siberia (Russia).

The Bengal tiger or Royal tiger
→ Panthera tigris tigris
This tiger lives in South East Asia.

The Sumatran tiger
→ Panthera tigris sumatrae
This tiger lives on Sumatra.

The Indochinese tiger
→ Panthera tigris corbetti
This tiger lives in India and China, East of the Bengal tiger.

The South China tiger
→ Panthera tigris amoyensis
This tiger lives in the South of China.

The 3 extincted subspecies are:

The Caspian tiger
→ Panthera tigris virgata
This tiger lived in the neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea.

The Javan tiger
→ Panthera tigris sondaica
This tiger lived in Java.

The Bali tiger
→ Panthera tigris baltaica
This tiger lived in Bali.