[Nhcoll-l] Fwd: Tiger tails- advice for Caspian Tigers

[Mullon, Madeleine]

Hi Jazmine,

Taking a look at some of literature, the original description of Felis virgata by Illiger in 1815 (=Panthera tigris virgata) simply notes the Caspian tiger as being smaller and grayer than the Bengal tiger, saying nothing about the tail in particular. The species account for Panthera tigris in Mammalian Species (no. 152, Mazak 1981<https://doi.org/10.2307/3504004>) does say the subspecies virgata is one of the largest tiger subspecies, along with the Bengal tiger (P. tigris tigris) and the Siberian/Ussurian tiger (P. t. altaica), which is consistent with Bergmann’s Rule. The description of Felis tigris trabata by Schwarz in 1916, a synonym of virgata, lists the tail length of the type specimen as 87 cm (in mammalogy, we measure tail length at being the length from the junction with the body when the tail is bent at an angle to the body, to the fleshy tip of the tail, excluding any hairs that may form a tuft or pencil extending past the fleshy tip). The description of Felis tigris lecoqi, another synonym of virgata described by Schwarz, lists the type specimen’s tail length as 100 cm, but notes that this measurement was taken from the tanned hide and so may be somewhat stretched. There is a note in the size section of the Wikipedia article on the Caspian tiger that notes a large individual with a tail length of 90 cm. The tail on the tanned hide of the specimen we have at the MCZ (MCZ:Mamm:42145<https://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/guid/MCZ:Mamm:42145>) measures approximately 87 cm from where it connects to the body to the tip of the skin, but again, this is on a tanned hide.

I hope this helps.

Best,

Madeleine Mullon (she/they)
Curatorial Assistant, Mammalogy
Museum of Comparative Zoology
Harvard University
617-495-2469
[https://huctw.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/huctw_email_sig_2012_white.jpg?download=1]


From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Jazmine Miles-Long
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2026 2:42 AM
To: The Natural Science Collections Association discussion list <NATSCA at jiscmail.ac.uk>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Fwd: Tiger tails- advice for Caspian Tigers

Dear all,

We are working on a taxidermy conservation project and are looking for advice regarding tiger tails. The specimens in question are 2 Caspian tigers, a smaller, extinct sub-species. We have only been able to find one photo online which shows a very small tail compared to its overall size.

A previous restoration of these specimens has given them a much larger tail, more like a Bengal Tiger. We would appreciate advice from a mammalogist regarding the correct size for the tail of this species. We will be making new replacements!

I attach 3 photos, one of the Caspian tiger reference and two of the current tails.

Advice would be greatly appreciated,

Thank you,

Jazmine Miles Long

Jazmine Miles-Long
Taxidermist
07950589564
Website<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.jazminemileslong.com_&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=c8DCf3D8vJdkDqggyvXc9_RiBxCFt0yASHER3Q8JFjzfjMt5m7E6JdGKsu-rMtZd&m=5p65RULw_xjKAX3fxoxJJJs971XSq9tBs6933a2M5RWdyZwqE1K0fMihGWklwxU4&s=5ItMqi1geXWbHNS8PHaprKS_k4Vc1e2jNkLaYy4hkbw&e=> / Instagram<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__instagram.com_jazmine-5Fmiles-5Flong_&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=c8DCf3D8vJdkDqggyvXc9_RiBxCFt0yASHER3Q8JFjzfjMt5m7E6JdGKsu-rMtZd&m=5p65RULw_xjKAX3fxoxJJJs971XSq9tBs6933a2M5RWdyZwqE1K0fMihGWklwxU4&s=O4PDHtwiiM0KdIqXGpl_WL4FS-eb7phrZ9vvhG0sHkM&e=>
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