Molecular evolution of mitochondrial sequences in the pantherine cats

An early molecular study of the big cats that used mitochondrial 12S rRNA and cytochrome b sequences to probe relationships within the Panthera group. This work was among the first to apply DNA sequence data to long-standing morphological debates about how lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, and snow leopards relate to one another. It provided initial estimates of divergence and highlighted areas of conflict between molecular and anatomical hypotheses. Although later genomic studies refined and sometimes overturned its specific conclusions, the paper was foundational in demonstrating that DNA could resolve felid relationships that morphology alone could not. It marks an important step in the transition from skull-based to sequence-based pantherine systematics, and it is frequently cited in histories of the field.