Barbary lion

Museum specimens of male Barbary lion were described as having very dark and long-haired manes that extended over the shoulder and to the belly. Head-to-tail length of stuffed males varies from 2.35 to 2.8 m (7 ft 9 in to 9 ft 2 in), and females measure around 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in). A 19th century hunter described a large male allegedly measuring 3.25 m (10.7 ft) including a 75 cm (30 in) long tail. In some historic accounts the weight of wild males was indicated as very heavy and reaching 270 to 300 kilograms (600 to 660 lb). But the accuracy of the measurements may be questionable, and the sample size of captive Barbary lions were too small to conclude they were the biggest lion subspecies.
Before it became possible to investigate the genetic diversity of lion populations, the colour and size of lion manes was thought to be a sufficiently distinct morphological characteristic to accord a subspecific status to populations. Results of a long-term study of lions in the Serengeti National Park indicate that various factors such as ambient temperature, nutrition and level of testosterone influence the colour and size of lion manes. Sub-Saharan lions kept in a cool environment of European and North American zoos usually develop bigger manes than their wild counterparts. Barbary lions may have developed long-haired manes because of the temperatures in the Atlas Mountains that are much lower than in other African regions, particularly in winter. Therefore, the size of manes is not regarded as appropriate evidence for identifying Barbary lion ancestry. Results of mitochondrial DNA research published in 2006 support the genetic distinctness of Barbary lions in a unique haplotype found in museum specimens that are believed to be of Barbary lion descent. The presence of this haplotype is considered a reliable ..molecular marker for the identification of Barbary lions surviving in captivit