by Elias
(Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A.)
I firmly believe that the indochinese tiger and south chinese tiger might have the same DNA, they might be the same tiger species after all, so therefore it is possible to use the indochinese tiger as a substitute for the south china tiger and successfully rewild it in China again, so therefore hope is not lost, if scientists examine the dna’s of both tigers they might find that they were both the same or very close after all.
Elias
Hi Elias… thanks for the thought. I agree that taxonomy is evolving and the classification of species and subspecies is changing.
However, I don’t know if you have seen this research study:
Phylogeography and Genetic Ancestry of Tigers (Panthera tigris)
The scientists conclude that after DNA testing there are six subspecies not eight and the Indochinese tiger can be sub-divided into two subspecies – the northern Indochinese and Malayan Peninsula populations.
The scientists separated out South China tiger from the Indochinese tiger and came up with these subspecies:
(1) Amur tiger P. t. altaica; (2) northern Indochinese tiger P. t. corbetti; (3) South China tiger P. t. amoyensis; (4) Malayan tiger P. t. jacksoni, named for the tiger conservationist Peter Jackson; (5) Sumatran tiger P. t. sumatrae; and (6) Bengal tiger P. t. tigris.
The work was published December 7, 2004. This is the page. I don’t know how conclusive it is or whether it has been widely accepted.
