The African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of habitat conversion. Leopards have also been recorded in North Africa as well. Taxonomy Felis pardus was the scientific name used by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758. His description was based on descriptions by earlier naturalists such as Conrad Gessner. He assumed that the leopard occurred in India. In the 18th and 19th centuries, several naturalists described various leopard skins and skulls from Africa, including: Felis pardus panthera proposed by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1778 based on descriptions by earlier naturalists Felis leopardus var. melanotica by Albert Günther in 1885 from the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa Felis leopardus suahelicus by Oscar Neumann in 1900 from the Tanganyika territory Felis leopardus nanopardus...