International studies have confirmed the existence of six tiger subseeds

, an international team of researchers analyzed the complete genomes of 32 representative tiger specimens, confirming that they can be divided into six different genetic populations. The paper is published in the journal Current Biology. The six subseeds include The Bengal Tiger, the Northeast Tiger, the South China Tiger, the Sumatran Tiger, the Indo-Chinese Tiger and the Malaya Tiger.
Luo Shujin, of Peking University's School of Life Sciences, who led the study, said the lack of consensus on the number of tiger subseeds was hampering global efforts to save tiger species from the brink of extinction, as there was a growing need to clearly define the protection of tiger populations, whether in captive breeding or in wild population interventions. "This study is the first to reveal the natural history of tigers from a genome-wide perspective, providing strong whole-genome evidence for the origin and evolution of this fascinating megastruct.
team and teams from the United States and Russia used population genomics to expand early genetic evidence of tiger evolution and population structure. Fossil evidence suggests that the tiger's appearance dates back two to three million years. But genomic evidence suggests that the nearest common ancestor of all existing tigers dates back only about 110,000 years.
researchers say ice age dynamics from 126,000 to 10,000 years ago, the eruption of the Doba supermoon on Sumatra 74,000 years ago, and the recurrence of climate fluctuations in the late Pleusion may have contributed to the differentiation of previous populations and contributed to the formation of today's geographical distribution patterns between tiger subsethics.
study also found that different tiger subseeds have distinct characteristics. For example, the north-east tiger is larger in size and has light orange fur, while the Sumatran tiger in the Satan Islands is smaller in size and darker in fur color. This discovery reveals for the first time the genetic mechanisms of the in-species adaptive evolution of tigers. The researchers believe that tiger populations in different regions face different pressures of natural selection due to their different ecological environments, which may further lead to genetic differentiation