The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the cat family Felidae, and it belongs to the genus Panthera along with the tiger, leopard, and jaguar. Carl Linnaeus first described it in 1758 under the name Felis leo.
Since a 2017 revision of cat taxonomy, two lion subspecies are recognized: P. l. leo, which includes the Asiatic lion and lions of West and northern Central Africa, and P. l. melanochaita, which covers lions of East and Southern Africa. The IUCN Red List classifies the lion as Vulnerable.
Source: Lion, Wikipedia