Big cats

Big cat refers to the medium-to-large wild felids of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. Australia and Antarctica have no indigenous species of big cats. Like the domestic cat, all of the big cats are carnivores and efficient predators.

Wikibooks has more about this subject:

Wikijunior Big Cats

The term is used to distinguish these large felids from the domestic cat and other smaller Felidae species.

Felines can either roar or purr but not both, and as it is only members the genus Panthera which are able to roar. Consequently, this is sometimes used as a distinguishing characteristic of big cats.

Species

Genus Panthera:

• Lion (Africa, Gir Forest in India; in southeast Europe and the Middle East in classical times)
• Tiger (Asia)
• Leopard (Asia and Africa)
• Jaguar (the Americas from northern Argentina to southern Arizona and New Mexico in the U.S.

Others often thought to be "big cats":

• Snow Leopard (mountains of central Asia)
• Cheetah (Africa)
• Lynx (including the Bobcat)
• Ocelot (Texas; South and Central America)
• Puma (other names: catamount, cougar, mountain lion, painted cat, panther) (North and South America)

Hybrids:

• Tigon (male Tiger/female Lion)
• Liger (male Lion/female Tiger)
• Jagulep (male Jaguar/female Leopard)
• Lepjag (male leopard/female jaguar)
• Congolese Spotted Lion (Jagulep or Lepjag/Lion)
• Marozi (male Lion/female Leopard)
• Leopon (male Leopard/female Lion)
• For other hybrids see Panthera hybrid

Big cats of unconfirmed status (either a new species, a subspecies of a known type, or legendary):

• Onza (Pre-Columbian Central America)