Leopard to Sanskrit ("snake", "tiger" or "panther"), and probably derives from a Mediterranean language, such as Egyptian. The name was first used in the 13th century. Other vernacular names for the leopard include graupanther, panther and several regional names such as "tendwa" in India. The term "black panther" refers to leopards with melanistic genes. A term for the leopard used in Old English and later, but now very uncommon, is "pard". The scientific name of the leopard is "Panthera pardus". The generic name "Panthera" derives from Latin via Greek πάνθηρ ("pánthēr"). The term "panther", whose first recorded use dates back to
Indochinese leopard are predominantly spotted. South of the Isthmus, only melanistic leopards were present. Melanism is quite common in dense tropical forest habitat, and black leopards have a selective advantage for ambush. The Indochinese leopard is distributed in Southeast Asia, where today small populations remain only in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and southern China. In Laos, Viet Nam and Singapore it is suspected to have been extirpated. Peninsular Malaysia and the Northern Tenasserim Forest Complex on Thailand-Myanmar border are at present considered strongholds, and eastern Cambodia a priority site. In Myanmar's Chatthin Wildlife Sanctuary, the leopard population declined so drastically between the