So, you were interested in finding out if lions belong to the cat or dog family. You’ve come to the right article if this is the case as I’ll answer this question for you in this article, and I’ll also answer a few more closely related questions after I’ve answered the main question for you, so make sure you keep on reading this article till the end.
Do lions belong to the cat or dog family? Lions belong to the cat family which is called “Felidae”. Felidae is a family of mammals that are carnivores which are commonly referred to as cats. Lions do not belong to the dog family because lions do not contain all the characteristics that are required to classify them as dogs.
Some of the characteristics that are present in cat species are that they have retractile claws for easily having a tight grip on their prey, they have muscular and athletic bodies to effectively chase down their prey, they have a powerful bite, and they will either ambush or stalk their prey.
Why is a lion a cat and not a dog?
A lion belongs to the cat family “Felidae” because we humans decided to link all animals with cat-like characteristics to this family and not to the dog family “Canidae” because lions do not have the characteristics that are required to link them to the dog family “Canidae”.
Examples of differences in characteristics between lions and dogs are that lions can roar and dogs cannot, lions have retractable claws and dogs have not, lions are way stronger than any random dog species, and lions weigh way more than any random dog species.
If you can’t get enough of learning about lions then I encourage you to check out the “Lions Category Page” which consists of various articles that give answers to lion-related questions.
Why are lions part of the big cat family?
The cat family “Felidae” is divided into several cat categories which are called “Pantherinae” and “Felinae”. All the big cat species belong to the category “Pantherinae” and all the small cats belong to the category “Felinae”. Lions are part of the big cat family because they are big cat species.
If you want to see the phylogenetic relationships of all the living cat members of the Felidae family then you should check out the following link. A little bit further than halfway down the linked page you’ll find a nice cladogram that shows the phylogenetic relationships of all the living cat members.
Also, lions hunt and live in packs because this is pretty much essential for their survival and also for the survival of their cubs. So, it can even be said that a group of lions is kind of a big cat family on its own.
Is a lion related to a dog?
Lions are only distantly related to the family “Canidae” (which is the family of dog species). When you observe a lion you’ll be able to see that the lion shows behaviors that are very much cat-like, and it is known that lions are more closely related to tigers, jaguars, and leopards.
There are, however, a few characteristics that lions and dogs share like, for example, that both animals have four legs, that they’re both carnivores, that they both can achieve incredible speeds, and that they both have a powerful bite.
Related questions
Which dog species look like lions?
Various dog species look like lions. Examples of dog species that look like lions are:
- Chow Chow.
- Löwchen.
- Chinese Crested.
- Newfoundland.
- Pomeranian.
- Pekingese.
- Tibetan Mastiff.
- Leonberger.
There are most likely a lot more dog species that look like lions but above I’ve mentioned at least the most common ones that you’ll be able to find.
Check out the video below if you want to see cute and funny moments of Chow Chow dogs.
What is a lion dog?
A lion dog could be any dog that looks like a lion but it can also be that a person that uses the name lion-dog is talking about the dog species “Shih Tzu”, which is a dog species that according to legend, could transform into a full-sized lion. Check out this article to read more about this.
What are good names to give to your lion dog pet?
There are so many different names you could give to your lion dog pet. Examples of these names are:
- Zuba.
- Ryan.
- Martin.
- Bibi.
- Granite.
- Gold.
- Christian.
- Kion.
- Lavi.
- Romeo.
- Lexie.
- King.
- Luna.
- Leo.
- Leah.
- Lolita.
Conclusion
Now you know that lions belong to the cat family “Felidae”. Felidae are a family of carnivorous mammals which are commonly referred to as cats. Lions are not closely related to the dog family but only distantly. Lions are the closest related to tigers, jaguars, and leopards.
