|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
puma
puma or cougar , New World member of the cat family, Felis concolor. Also known as mountain lion, catamount, panther, and painter, it ranges from S British Columbia to the southern tip of South America. The puma is slenderly built, with a lionlike face. There is great variation both in size and in color, and pumas at the extremes of their geographic range are much larger than those of the tropics. Adult males of the cooler regions average about 7 ft (2.1 m) in length, including the 30-in. (76-cm) tail, and about 28 in. (71 cm) in shoulder height; they weigh up to 175 lb (80 kg). Females are smaller. The fur is yellow-brown, red-brown, or gray; the puma is distinguished from the other large New World cat, the jaguar, by its lack of spots. Pumas are found in almost every type of country, including mountain tops, grasslands, deserts, and temperate and tropical forests. They are solitary hunters, preying on animals up to the size of deer. Some individuals prey on livestock, and farmers have waged extensive war on the species, which is nonetheless still numerous in Central and South America. In North America it has largely disappeared from the eastern two thirds of the continent, except for some survivors in Florida; there was a confirmed sighting of a puma in N Vermont in 1994. Pumas avoid contact with humans and rarely attack them. They are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae. |
|
|
Cite this article
"puma." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "puma." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-puma.html "puma." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-puma.html |
|
puma
puma (mountain lion, cougar) Large cat found in mountains, forests, swamps and jungles of the Americas. It has a small, round head, erect ears and a heavy tail. The coat is tawny with dark brown on the ears, nose and tail; the underparts are white. It preys mainly on deer and small animals. Length: to 2.3m (7.5ft), including the tail; height: to 75cm (30in) at the shoulder. Family Felidae; species Felis concolor.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"puma." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "puma." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-puma.html "puma." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-puma.html |
|
puma
pu·ma / ˈp(y)oōmə/ • n. another term for cougar. |
|
|
Cite this article
"puma." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "puma." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-puma.html "puma." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-puma.html |
|
puma
puma XVIII. — Sp. — Quechua.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "puma." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "puma." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-puma.html T. F. HOAD. "puma." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-puma.html |
|
puma
puma •dormer, former, korma, Norma, performer, pro-forma, stormer, transformer, trauma, warmer
•sixth-former • barnstormer
•aroma, carcinoma, chroma, coma, comber, diploma, glaucoma, Homer, lymphoma, melanoma, misnomer, Oklahoma, Omagh, roamer, Roma, romer, sarcoma, soma
•beachcomber
•bloomer, boomer, consumer, Duma, humour (US humor), Nkrumah, perfumer, puma, roomer, rumour (US rumor), satsuma, stumer, Sumer, tumour (US tumor)
•zeugma • fulmar
•bummer, comer, drummer, hummer, midsummer, mummer, plumber, rummer, strummer, summa, summer
•latecomer • newcomer • agama
•welcomer
•astronomer, monomer
•ashrama • isomer • gossamer
•customer
•affirmer, Burma, derma, Irma, murmur, squirmer, terra firma, wormer
|
|
|
Cite this article
"puma." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "puma." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-puma.html "puma." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-puma.html |
|
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
