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
Chinese leopard Chinese leopard The term Chinese leopard refers to any of the following three leopard ("Panthera pardus") subspecies occurring in China: A black leopard from India served as basis for Meyer's description of "Felis fusca" in 1794. This type specimen was on display at the Tower of London. A leopard skin from Korea was described by Schlegel as "Felis orientalis" in 1857. A leopard skin received by the British Museum was described in 1862 by Gray as "Leopardus japonensis". Gray also described a leopard skin from the environs of Peking and named it "Leopardus chinensis". And another leopard specimen from southern