A lion's taxonomic classification is Panthera leo.
A genus ( [ ˈdʒiːnəs ] , genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms in biology . The lion ( Panthera leo ) is one of the big cats in the genus Panthera and a member of the family Felidae . In the late Pleistocene , about 10,000 years ago , the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans : Panthera leo spelaea lived in northern and western Europe and Panthera leo atrox lived in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru .