Page "Lion" Paragraph 7

Previous studies, which were focused mainly on lions from eastern and southern parts of Africa, already showed these can be possibly divided in two main clades: one to the west of the Great Rift Valley and the other to the east.

Lions from Tsavo in eastern Kenya are much closer genetically to lions in Transvaal ( South Africa ), than to those in the Aberdare Range in western Kenya.

Another study revealed there are three major types of lions, one North African – Asian, one southern African and one middle African.

Conversely, Per Christiansen found that using skull morphology allowed him to identify the subspecies krugeri, nubica, persica, and senegalensis, while there was overlap between bleyenberghi with senegalensis and krugeri.

The Asiatic lion persica was the most distinctive, and the Cape lion had characteristics allying it more with P. l. persica than the other sub-Saharan lions.

He had analysed 58 lion skulls in three European museums.