ANATOMY

TIGER PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TIGERS

Tigers are the largest cats in the world. However, the size of each particular subspecies depends on several factors like habitat, climate, food, prey and so on.

Tigers have a body design that allows them to move along gracefully. They are also incredibly fast when it comes to hunting their prey or getting themselves out of the way of danger. A full grown tiger can be up to 11 feet in length and weigh as much as 670 pounds. They have a very muscular build too which helps them to take down prey that is many types heavier than they are. The females are smaller than the males for all of the different species of tigers, which is an indicator of sexual dimorphism in this species.

VERTEBRATE ANIMAL

Tigers are vertebrates; this means that they have a backbone that supports their body and starts at the skull and ends at the tip of the tail, acting as a flexible central support for the rib cage and limbs. The skeleton is composed of bones, therefore, attached by joints. In the end, more than 200 bones build an active and flexible structure that allows the performance of more than 600 muscles.

They have a big skull with a rounded shape and powerful jaws. In fact, the lower jaw is almost straight. They have seven vertebrae in the neck, seven lumbar vertebrae, 13 thoracic vertebrae and three sacral vertebrae. Its clavicle is small, which favors the execution of larger movements.