Glossary

Black panther

A popular name for a black leopard in Asia and Africa or a black jaguar in the Americas; there is no species of that name.

Also called: panther, black leopard, black jaguar, melanistic leopard

Black panther is a popular name for a big cat with a black coat. There is no species of that name. In Asia and Africa the animal is a leopard with melanism, and in the Americas it is a jaguar with the same trait. Both are the same species as their spotted relatives, and a litter can contain a mix of black and spotted cubs.

The word panther is used loosely. In the Americas, it can mean a jaguar, and in parts of North America people use it for the cougar, which is not a spotted or black species at all. The Florida panther is a cougar population. Genus Panthera, the group that includes the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar, is a separate scientific term.

Black leopards are reported more often in dense forests, such as parts of the Malay Peninsula, than in open savanna. Seeing one is rare and records often come from camera trap images. A black house cat is not a panther either, although it shares the same kind of dark pigment.

Last reviewed November 7, 2026

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Related terms

Melanism An inherited excess of dark pigment that turns an animal's coat black or very dark, as in black leopards, black jaguars and many house cats. Big cat An informal name for the largest wild cats, usually the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar, and often the snow leopard, cheetah and cougar too. Felid Any member of the cat family, Felidae, from the house cat to the tiger, and including extinct cats such as the sabre-toothed cats. Camera trap A motion-triggered camera left in the field that photographs passing animals, widely used to count shy wild cats such as tigers and jaguars. Hyoid apparatus The chain of small bones and ligaments supporting the tongue and larynx, whose structure helps explain why some cats roar and others purr.

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