Research overview: the fossil record and origins of the tiger

This overview surveys the fossil evidence for the evolution of the tiger, Panthera tigris, centred on Asia where the species and its relatives arose. Early forms such as the Pliocene Panthera zdanskyi and later Pleistocene fossils from China, including large specimens, and from sites like Trinil in Java document the tiger's emergence and spread across the continent. The survey reviews how these fossils trace the tiger's evolutionary history, its dispersal through eastern and southern Asia, and the body-size variation among extinct populations. It discusses how the fossil record combines with genetic studies of living subspecies to reconstruct the tiger's origins, the relationship of fossil forms to modern tigers, and the role of Ice Age climate in shaping the distribution of one of the most iconic big cats.