Asiatic lion

noun

: a lion of a subspecies (Panthera leo persica) found in western India that is slightly smaller than the lion of Africa

Asiatic lions tend to be grayer, have longer tufts of hair on their elbows and often a fringe of hair along their bellies, found there is a fold of skin seldom found in African lions.

—Peter Jackson, International Wildlife, January/February 1983

Only 200 Asiatic lions are left in the wild, and all are concentrated in the Gir Forest northwest of Bombay.

—Arnie Weissmann, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 1986

Word History

First Known Use

1805, in the meaning defined above

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