What is "tigon"

n. A cross between a male tiger and a lioness.

n. offspring of a male tiger and a female lion [syn: tiglon]

A tigon or tiglon is a hybrid cross between a male tiger (Panthera tigris) and a female lion (Panthera leo). Thus, it has parents with the same genus but of different species. The tigon is not currently as common as the converse hybrid, the liger; however, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Gerald Iles wrote that he had been able to obtain three tigons, but he had never seen a liger.

The tigon's genome includes genetic components of both parents. Tigons can exhibit visible characteristics from both parents: they can have both spots from the mother (lions carry genes for spots—lion cubs are spotted and some adults retain faint markings) and stripes from the father. Any mane that a male tigon may have will appear shorter and less noticeable than a lion's mane and is closer in type to the ruff of a male tiger. It is a common misconception that tigons are smaller than lions or tigers. They do not exceed the size of their parent species because they inherit growth-inhibitory genes from the lioness mother, but they do not exhibit any kind of dwarfism or miniaturization; they often weigh around .

A tigon is a hybrid cross between a female lion and a male tiger.

Tigon may also refer to:

• Tigon British Film Productions, a British film production and distribution company
• Tigon Studios, a video game production company