Ligers and Tigons oh my!

[opuntia]

Well, thankfully i found this thread and it saved me from the hard work of creating a new one

Anyways, My teacher started teaching taxonomy to us taday and was explainnig species when he said that the tigons are considered as a species while the ligers are not because the ligers are sterile....since both tigons and liger are cross breeds between two different species, why is one of them fertile while the other is sterile?

[MrMistery]

I'm not sure the answer to that question is known

[opuntia]

Could it be because of some deficit or mutation in their chromosomes?

[Dr.Stein]

It is all about the compatibility of gametes, especially ovum

[Inuyasha]

ok, i'll make this uber clear. Ligers and tigons are not defined as species because both of them do not exist nautrally in the wild. The reason is obvious, their habitats do not overlap. In addition both ligers and tigons can be fertile, however in most cases on the female is fertile. Male ligers and tigons are not fertile. So i think your bio teacher is mistaken. You should read the paper that heads this dicussion if u wish for more info.

[opuntia]

Thanks for the explanation, i went through a book that has quite alot information about both tigons and ligers and i'm satisfied with the information given in that book, thanks once again.

And i read all the posts in this thread before posting that question

[Inuyasha]

oh ok, no problem. Feel feel to email me if u want more info

[opuntia]

Well, i could do with all the info. that you could possibly give me.

Thanks!

[Inuyasha]

wow, sry, schools kinda of rought now. What info are you looking for. Anything in particular. A really great site is google. Just jking. Bobst libray down here has a bunch of hyrbid books. Ur library probably has them too.

[FIRE LIGON]

ha I'm looking 4 info on tigons

[FIRE LIGON]

panthera leo\tigiris

[FIRE LIGON]

danho is 2\3 right, theres no ligiris