By contrast, the male tiger does not pass on a growth-promoting gene and the lioness passes on a growth inhibiting gene, hence tigons are around the same size as either species.
Because the lion sire passes on a growth-promoting gene, but the corresponding growth-inhibiting gene from the female tiger is absent, ligers grow far larger than either parent species.
The former born to a female tiger and male lion and the latter the result of a male tiger and female lion.
It was found to have repeat compositions much as other cat genomes and "an appreciably conserved synteny".
The tiger populations on the Sunda Islands and mainland Asia were possibly separated during interglacial periods.
The Caspian tiger population was likely connected to the Bengal tiger population through corridors below elevations of 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the Hindu Kush.
