老虎和獅子都是獸中之王,，但它們誰更有“頭腦”,？英國的一項(xiàng)最新研究顯示，老虎比獅子的腦容量大,，理應(yīng)更加“智勇雙全”,。
英國牛津大學(xué)的研究人員日前報(bào)告說，他們檢測了大量的老虎,、獅子,、非洲豹及美洲豹的頭骨樣本。結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn),，盡管獅子頭骨的最大長度大于老虎,，但其腦容量卻小于老虎，即使是小型的雌性巴厘虎（曾棲息于印尼巴厘島,，于上世紀(jì)滅絕）,，其腦容量也超過大型的非洲雄獅。此外,，從腦容量占整個(gè)顱腔的比例來看,，獅子、非洲豹和美洲豹相差無幾,，而老虎的這一比例要比它們高出約16％,。
牛津大學(xué)發(fā)布的新聞公報(bào)說，獅子是群居動(dòng)物,，而老虎通常是單獨(dú)行動(dòng),，曾有理論認(rèn)為群居帶來的社會(huì)交往有助于大腦發(fā)育，但現(xiàn)在看來這一說法有待商榷,。由于這些大型貓科動(dòng)物源于相同祖先,，進(jìn)一步研究將有助于了解導(dǎo)致它們大腦進(jìn)化不同的原因。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society Volume 98 Issue 1, Pages 85 - 93
Brain size of the lion (Panthera leo) and the tiger (P. tigris): implications for intrageneric phylogeny, intraspecific differences and the effects of captivity
NOBUYUKI YAMAGUCHI 1*, ANDREW C. KITCHENER 2 , EMMANUEL GILISSEN 3 and DAVID W. MACDONALD 1
1 Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon OX13 5QL, UK
2 Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK
3 Department of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, and Université Libre de Bruxelles, Laboratory of Histology and Neuropathology CP 620, 808 route de Lennik, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
Intraspecific encephalization of the lion and the tiger is investigated for the first time using a very large sample. Using cranial volume as a measure of brain size, the tiger has a larger brain relative to greatest length of skull than the lion, the leopard and the jaguar. The Asian lion has a relatively much smaller brain compared with those of sub-Saharan lions, between which there are few differences. The Balinese and Javan tigers had relatively larger brains compared with those of Malayan and Sumatran tigers, even although these four putative subspecies occupy adjacent ranges in south-eastern Asia. Differences in brain size do not appear to correlate with any known differences in behaviour and ecology and, therefore, may reflect only chance differences in intrageneric and intraspecific phylogeny. However, captive-bred big cats generally have a reduced brain size compared with that of wild animals, so that an animal's life history and living conditions may affect brain size and, hence, functional or environmental explanations should be considered when linking brain size differences to intraspecific phylogenies.
