jaguar
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Financial, Acronyms, Wikipedia.
jaguar
(jăg`wär), large New World carnivore of the catcat,name applied broadly to the carnivorous mammals constituting the family Felidae, and specifically to the domestic cat, Felis catus. The great roaring cats, the lion, tiger, and leopard are anatomically very similar to one another and constitute the genus
..... Click the link for more information. family, Panthera onca. Jaguars range from the SW United States to S central Argentina, though there have been no resident breeding females in the United States since 1963. They have deep yellow or tawny coats marked with black rings, or rosettes, and spots. In all individuals at least some of the rings surround spots. This feature distinguishes the jaguar from the Old World leopardleopard,
large carnivore of the cat family, Panthera pardus, widely distributed in Africa and Asia. It is commonly yellow, buff, or gray, patterned with black spots and rings. The rings, unlike those of the New World jaguar, never have spots inside them.
..... Click the link for more information. , which has similar markings, but never has rosettes with internal spots. The jaguar is also shorter-limbed and stockier than the leopard. An adult male jaguar is up to 7 ft (2.2 m) long, including the 2 1-2-ft (76-cm) tail, stands about 2 1-2 ft (76 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about 200 lb (90 kg). Although the jaguar is classified with the big cats, which can roar, it does not seem to do so, a characteristic which it shares with the snow and clouded leopards.
Jaguars are very adaptable animals. They are primarily forest dwellers but may be found on the South American pampas, or even in rocky semidesert areas of Mexico and the United States. In some regions they live an almost entirely arboreal existence for months at a time when the forest floor is flooded. They are also good swimmers and sometimes catch fish for food. Jaguars hunt deer, agouti, capybara, and especially peccaries. They are retiring animals, not particularly inclined to attack people, but a jaguar may launch an attack or even stalk a human being if threatened. In Mexico the jaguar is known as el tigre, "the tiger," although true tigers are found only in Asia. Jaguars are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae.
Jaguar
(Panthera onca, Felis onca), a predatory mammal of the family Felidae. The body measures as much as 2 m in length, and the tail as much as 75 cm; the height at the shoulder is usually 80 cm. The coloring is orange with black rings and spots, sometimes completely black.
Jaguars are distributed in South and Central America, as well as Mexico and the southwestern USA. They inhabit tropical and subtropical forests, mainly near rivers, and sometimes mountains with a desert climate. Active mainly at night, they climb trees and swim well. The animals attack deer, tapirs, monkeys, rodents, and sometimes domestic cattle; they also feed on fish, turtles, and turtle eggs. Mating occurs in August and September. There are two to three young per litter. Jaguars are hunted for sport.
What does it mean when you dream about a jaguar?
The jaguar represents speed, agility, and sleek power. It is also associated with mystical powers.