black panther colloquial term used to refer to large felines classified in the genus Panthera that are characterized by a coat of black fur or large concentrations of black spots set against a dark background. The term black panther is most frequently applied to black-coated leopards (Panthera pardus) of Africa and Asia and jaguars (P. onca) of Central and South America; black-furred variants of these species are also called black leopards and black jaguars respectively. In addition the term is sometimes used to describe dark-coloured bobcats lynx jaguarundis tigers and pumas (cougars) even though reports of black-coloured representatives of some species such as the puma have not been confirmed.