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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 28 % approval rating with an average rating of 4 @.@ 5 / 10 based on 161 reviews . The website 's consensus reads , " Though arguably superior to its predecessor , G.I. Joe : Retaliation is overwhelmed by its nonstop action and too nonsensical and vapid to leave a lasting impression . " At Metacritic , which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics , the film has received an average score of 41 % , indicating " mixed or average reviews " , based on 31 critics , which was higher than the first film 's 32 % average score .
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Alan Scherstuhl of The Village Voice wrote in a positive review that " this [ movie ] pushes right past competent into mostly legitimately enjoyable " but added that " the movie is still dumb as catbutt . It 's an honest and accomplished dumbness , however , where the stupidest stuff seems to be there because the movie would be less fun without it . " The Hollywood Reporter 's Todd McCarthy was critical about the film 's use of 3D and accurate reflection of the franchise 's comic book and cartoon origins , but predicted it would still earn better than its predecessor , G.I. Joe : The Rise of Cobra . Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a grade of " B- " , calling it " well @-@ executed technocratic action fluff " and commented : " In its dehumanized and trivial way , it 's a triumph of razor @-@ sharp , hyper @-@ violent style over formulaic substance ... Hollywood has now evolved to the point that it can deliver these kinds of thrills with maximum brute force and keep the impact so light that the result can still be regarded as a ' harmless ' diversion for 14 @-@ year @-@ olds . " Glen Heath Jr. of Slant Magazine gave it two out of four stars , criticizing the film 's " cut @-@ happy style " and plot , but lauding the action sequences and Chu 's direction as " poetry in high @-@ speed motion . " Writing for Indiewire 's The Playlist Blog , Todd Gilchrist gave the film a " B- " and wrote : " As one might expect , there are more than a handful of loose ends once justice has been served , but there ’ s something to be said for a film which aims to please in a sincere and straightforward way , without attempting to be the biggest ever . ' Retaliation ' is no masterpiece , but it ’ s a movie whose fun doesn ’ t feel like a four @-@ letter word "
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In a negative review , Betsey Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times panned the " overwhelmingly complicated , globe @-@ hopping , enemies within , enemies without story line " and 3D but noted that " the humor , when it works , offers ' Retaliation ' some redemption . " She ended with : " It 's convoluted . Frankly no one should have to think that hard to keep up with the Joes . " Another negative review came from Variety Magazine 's Justin Chang , who ridiculed the movie 's large @-@ scale destruction of foreign cities , writing : " Audiences who thrilled to the sight of Paris under biochemical attack in Cobra will be pleased to watch London endure an even more horrific fate here , although the sequence is tossed off in quick , almost ho @-@ hum fashion , with no time to dwell on anything so exquisitely crass as the spectacle of the Eiffel Tower collapsing . " He summarized the movie as " a more straight @-@ faced brand of idiocy than its cheerfully dumb 2009 predecessor . "
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PopMatters journalist J.C. Maçek III wrote " For fans who bought the toys , watched the cartoon and read the comics during the ‘ 80s and now have like @-@ aged children of their own ( all of which I did and do ) , might I suggest proceeding to watch this fun film with your kids , but compromise so that you can leave the commentary track on . The film will remain a treat for the eyes , but you can more easily gloss over those parts that will make you apologize to your brain . "
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Writing for Empire magazine , Olly Richards gave the movie 2 stars out of 5 and compared it unfavorably with its predecessor , writing : " The first film you could at least laugh at . This takes all its silly ingredients and smushes them down flat . ' Retaliation ' over @-@ promises and under @-@ delivers . " Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun Times gave the movie 1 @.@ 5 stars out of a possible four , branding it a " ridiculous and overblown debacle " that contained " nothing but well @-@ packaged garbage " and further adding : " To say ' G.I. Joe : Retaliation ' is a video game for the big screen is to insult a number of video games that are far more creative , challenging and better @-@ looking . "
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Despite the negative critical response , audiences responded favorably . CinemaScore polls found that audiences gave the film an average grade of A @-@ minus .
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= = = Box office = = =
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G.I. Joe : Retaliation grossed $ 122 @,@ 523 @,@ 060 in North America and $ 253 @,@ 217 @,@ 645 internationally for a worldwide total of $ 375 @,@ 740 @,@ 705 . Overall , according to Box Office Mojo it is the 25th highest @-@ grossing film of 2013 in North America , the 18th highest @-@ grossing film worldwide that year , the highest @-@ grossing film in the G.I. Joe film series , and the fifth highest @-@ grossing Hasbro film .
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In North America , the film grossed $ 10 @.@ 5 million on its opening day at the top of the box office . The film retained the No. 1 spot over the three @-@ day weekend and grossed $ 40 @.@ 5 million , which is the third @-@ highest Easter debut ever behind Furious 7 and Clash of the Titans . However , this was lower than its predecessor 's opening weekend of $ 54 @.@ 7 million . The international response was even more positive , with $ 80 @.@ 3 million across the weekend .
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= = Sequel = =
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On April 1 , 2013 , reports surfaced that there will be a third G.I. Joe film , and it will likely be in 3D . The studio announced that Chu will return to direct the third film . While at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con , Chu talked about bringing Scarlett back in the next film . The writers of the second film are also thinking about bringing back the Baroness in the sequel . Johnson is interested in returning as Roadblock for the sequel , and Park has talked about a possible return as Snake Eyes and also including his pet wolf Timber . Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has stated he is open to doing a G.I. Joe / Transformers crossover , which Chu stated that he would be interested in directing . Bonaventura told Beijing News that he hoped that Johnson and Willis would return , the script is still in the writing stage , and that they are considering adding a third important role . On September 10 , 2013 , Chu was confirmed to direct the film , along with writer Evan Daugherty ( Snow White and the Huntsman , Divergent , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ) to pen the film 's script . On December 5 , 2013 , Daugherty talked about writing the film 's script and his feelings about Duke being killed , but Chu told MTV that Tatum may return as Duke in the sequel . On April 2 , 2014 , in an interview with Collider , Johnson believes that Chu may not return to direct , due to working on the live action Jem film , but they may find another director for the film . It was revealed that the third film will have a 2016 release date . On June 23 , 2014 , di Bonaventura told Collider in an interview that they 're meeting with new directors and filming may start in early 2015 . On July 1 , 2014 , Variety reported that Jonathan Lemkin will write the script for the film and will focus on Roadblock with Johnson returning . On February 5 , 2015 , Film Divider reported that the twins Tomax and Xamot and Matt Trakker from the TV series M.A.S.K. will be appearing . On April 2 , 2015 , the studio hired Aaron Berg to write the film , and D. J. Caruso to direct the film . On November 23 , 2015 , Deadline reported that Akiva Goldsman will lead a writers room for the next G.I. Joe film .
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= Burns ' Heir =
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" Burns ' Heir " is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons ' fifth season . It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14 , 1994 . In the episode , Mr. Burns has a near @-@ death experience which prompts him to find an heir to inherit his wealth after he dies . Although Bart is initially rejected , Burns soon decides to choose him after seeing him as " a creature of pure malevolence " . Marge convinces Bart to go spend some time with Burns , and soon becomes more disruptive than normal to his own family and decides to go live with Mr. Burns .
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" Burns ' Heir " was written by Jace Richdale , his only writing credit . David Silverman was originally going to direct the episode , but he was so swamped with his work as supervising director that it was reassigned to Mark Kirkland . While the Simpsons are at a movie , there is a parody of the THX sound Deep Note . The THX executives liked the parody so much that the scene was made into an actual THX movie trailer , with the scene being redone for the widescreen aspect ratio . A deleted scene from the episode sees Mr. Burns release a " Robotic Richard Simmons " as a way of getting rid of Homer . The scene was cut , but later included in the season seven clip show " The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular " .
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= = Plot = =
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Mr. Burns almost drowns while taking a bath after Smithers puts a sponge on his head that weighs him down . Later , after realizing that no one will carry on his legacy when he dies , Burns decides to try to find an heir that will inherit his vast fortune . He holds an audition and many of the boys in Springfield try out , including Nelson Muntz , Martin Prince , and Milhouse Van Houten . Bart and Lisa also try out and fail ; Lisa because she is a girl , and Bart because he read Homer 's badly @-@ worded proposal . Angry and humiliated after the audition ends , only made worse by Burns kicking him in the butt with a mechanical boot , Bart pays him back by vandalizing his mansion . Mr. Burns approves of Bart 's malevolence and decides to accept him as his heir .
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Homer and Marge sign a legal document which officially names Bart as Mr. Burns ' heir . Marge suggests that Bart should spend some time with Mr. Burns . While initially repelled by Mr. Burns ' coldness , Bart begins to take a liking to him after Burns promises to give Bart whatever he wants out of his life . Bart decides to abandon his family because Mr. Burns allows him to do anything he likes . Bart 's family becomes angry and wants him back , so they decide to sue Mr. Burns , but due to hiring Lionel Hutz as their lawyer , the court ends up deciding that Mr Burns is Bart 's biological father . The Simpsons get a Private Investigator deprogrammer to kidnap Bart , but the deprogrammer wrongly takes Hans Moleman instead and brainwashes him into thinking he 's a part of the Simpson family .
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Meanwhile , Bart becomes lonely and wants to go back to his family . Mr. Burns does not want him to leave and tricks him into thinking that his family hates him , using a falsified video with actors playing the Simpson family . Bart decides that Burns is his true father and the two celebrate by firing employees at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant by ejecting them through a trap door . However , one of the employees is Homer and Mr. Burns then tries to break Bart 's ties with his family by forcing him to fire Homer . Bart instead " fires " Burns and drops him through a trap door . Bart decides that he loves his family , and moves back in with them .
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= = Production = =
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" Burns ' Heir " was the first episode in which Jace Richdale received a writers ' credit , although he was a part of the show 's staff for several seasons . When he was starting out as a writer on the show , Richdale was told to come up with some story ideas and he came up with the basic plot off the top of his head . David Silverman was originally going to direct the episode , but he was so swamped with his work as supervising director that it was reassigned to Mark Kirkland . While the Simpsons are at a movie , there is a parody of the THX sound Deep Note . During that scene , a man 's head explodes in a reference to the film Scanners . The THX executives liked the parody so much that the scene was made into an actual THX movie trailer , with the scene being redone for the widescreen aspect ratio .
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A deleted scene from the episode sees Mr. Burns release a " Robotic Richard Simmons " as a way of getting rid of Homer , which dances to a recording of K.C. and the Sunshine Band 's " Shake Your Booty " . Simmons was originally asked to guest star , according to David Mirkin , he was " dying to do the show " , but declined when he found out he would voice a robot . It was fully animated , but was cut from " Burns ' Heir " because it often did not get a good reaction during table reads . According to Bill Oakley , there was a " significant division of opinion amongst the staff as to whether Richard Simmons was a target The Simpsons should make fun of " because it was " well @-@ trod territory " . They also felt it distracted viewers from the story . To the production staff 's surprise , the scene would make the audience " erupt with laughter " when screened at animation conventions and college presentations , so they decided to insert it in the season seven clip show " The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular " .
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= = Cultural references = =
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The episode parodies THX 's infamous ' Deep Note ' .
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The trailer advertising Mr. Burns ' search for an heir is a loose parody of the trailer for Toys , a 1992 comedy starring Robin Williams .
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Mr. Burns also sings " Let 's All Go to the Lobby " .
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Marge 's fantasy about Bart graduating from Harvard University with Mr. Burns ' money is interrupted by a fantasy of her being lifted into the sky by Lee Majors , accompanied by a sound effect from The Six Million Dollar Man , in which Majors played the title character .
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Mr. Burns states that he got the idea for installing cameras all through town from Sliver , which he calls a " delightful romp " .
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Moe using a home @-@ made sliding action holster with a pistol while looking in a mirror is a reference to Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver .
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The scene in which Homer is secretly eating flowers is a reference to a scene in The Last Emperor where the empress eats flowers .
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The young boy saying , " Today , sir ? Why , it 's Christmas Day ! " makes a reference to Charles Dickens ' A Christmas Carol .
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The room in which " Bart " ( who is really Hans Moleman ) is deprogrammed in is room number 101 , which is in reference to the novel Nineteen Eighty @-@ Four .
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In the deleted scene , the Richard Simmons robot healing itself after Smithers shoots it with a shotgun is a reference to the T @-@ 1000 from Terminator 2 : Judgment Day .
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= = Reception = =
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In its original broadcast , " Burns ' Heir " finished 53rd in ratings for the week of April 11 – 17 , 1994 , with a Nielsen rating of 9 @.@ 4 , and was viewed in 8 @.@ 85 million households . The show dropped four places in the rankings after finishing 49th the previous week . It was the third highest rated show on Fox that week following Living Single and Married ... with Children .
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The authors of the book I Can 't Believe It 's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide , Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood , wrote that , " the episode lacks the emotional punch of others in which members of the family are separated . " DVD Movie Guide 's Colin Jacobson wrote that the episode was " such a great concept that it ’ s a surprise no [ one ] went for it earlier . " He felt that it " occasionally veers on the edge of mushiness , but it avoids becoming too sentimental . It 's a blast to see Burns ’ world from Bart ’ s point of view . DVD Talk gave the episode a score of 5 out of 5 while DVD Verdict gave the episode a Grade B score . Paul Campos of Rocky Mountain News described the Robotic Richard Simmons scene as " a level of surreal comedy that approaches a kind of genius " .
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Homer 's quote , " Kids , you tried your best and you failed miserably . The lesson is never try " , was added to The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations in August 2007 .
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= Cougar =
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The cougar ( Puma concolor ) , also commonly known as the mountain lion , puma , panther , or catamount , is a large felid of the subfamily Felinae native to the Americas . Its range , from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America , is the greatest of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere . An adaptable , generalist species , the cougar is found in most American habitat types . It is the second @-@ heaviest cat in the New World , after the jaguar . Secretive and largely solitary by nature , the cougar is properly considered both nocturnal and crepuscular , although there are daytime sightings . The cougar is more closely related to smaller felines , including the domestic cat ( subfamily Felinae ) , than to any species of subfamily Pantherinae , of which only the jaguar is native to the Americas .
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The cougar is an ambush predator and pursues a wide variety of prey . Primary food sources are ungulates , particularly deer , but also livestock . It also hunts species as small as insects and rodents . This cat prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking , but can also live in open areas . The cougar is territorial and survives at low population densities . Individual territory sizes depend on terrain , vegetation , and abundance of prey . While large , it is not always the apex predator in its range , yielding to the jaguar , gray wolf , American black bear , and grizzly bear . It is reclusive and mostly avoids people . Fatal attacks on humans are rare , but have recently been increasing in North America as more people enter their territories .
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Prolific hunting following European colonization of the Americas and the ongoing human development of cougar habitat has caused populations to drop in most parts of its historical range . In particular , the cougar was extirpated in eastern North America in the beginning of the 20th century , except for an isolated Florida panther subpopulation . Breeding populations have moved east into the far western parts of the Dakotas , Nebraska , and Oklahoma . Transient males have been verified in Minnesota , Missouri , Wisconsin , Iowa , the Upper Peninsula of Michigan , and Illinois , where a cougar was shot in the city limits of Chicago and , in at least one instance , observed as far east as coastal Connecticut . Reports of eastern cougars ( P. c. cougar ) still surface , although it was declared extirpated in 2011 .
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= = Naming and etymology = =
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With its vast range across the length of the Americas , P. concolor has dozens of names and various references in the mythology of the indigenous Americans and in contemporary culture . Currently , it is referred to as " puma " by most scientists and by the populations in 21 of the 23 countries in the Americas where " puma " is the common name in Spanish or Portuguese . The cat has many local or regional names in the United States and Canada , of which cougar , puma , mountain lion , and panther are popular . " Mountain lion " was a term first used in writing in 1858 from the diary of George A. Jackson of Colorado . Other names include catamount ( probably a contraction from " cat of the mountain " ) , mountain screamer , and painter . Lexicographers regard painter as a primarily upper @-@ Southern US regional variant on panther . The word panther is commonly used to specifically designate the black panther , a melanistic jaguar or leopard , and the Florida panther , a subspecies of cougar ( P. c. coryi ) .
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P. concolor holds the Guinness record for the animal with the greatest number of names , with over 40 in English alone .
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" Cougar " may be borrowed from the archaic Portuguese çuçuarana ; the term was originally derived from the Tupi language susua 'rana , meaning " similar to deer ( in hair color ) " . A current form in Brazil is suçuarana . It may also be borrowed from the Guaraní language term guaçu ara or guazu ara . Less common Portuguese terms are onça @-@ parda ( brown onça , in distinction of the black @-@ spotted [ yellow ] one , onça @-@ pintada , the jaguar ) or leão @-@ baio ( lit. chestnut lion ) , or unusually non @-@ native puma or leão @-@ da @-@ montanha , more common names for the animal when native to a region other than South America ( especially for those who do not know that suçuaranas are found elsewhere but with a different name ) . People in rural regions often refer to both the cougar and the jaguar as simply gata ( she @-@ cat ) , and outside of the Amazon , both are colloquially referred to as simply onça by many people ( that is also a name for the leopard in Angola ) .
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In the 17th century , German naturalist Georg Marcgrave named the cat the cuguacu ara . Marcgrave 's rendering was reproduced by his associate , Dutch naturalist Willem Piso , in 1648 . Cuguacu ara was then adopted by English naturalist John Ray in 1693 . The French naturalist Georges @-@ Louis Leclerc , Comte de Buffon in 1774 ( probably influenced by the word " jaguar " ) converted the cuguacu ara to cuguar , which was later modified to " cougar " in English .
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The first English record of " puma " was in 1777 , where it had come from the Spanish , who in turn borrowed it from the Peruvian Quechua language in the 16th century , where it means " powerful " .
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= = Taxonomy and evolution = =
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Cougars are the largest of the small cats . They are placed in the subfamily Felinae , although their bulk characteristics are similar to those of the big cats in the subfamily Pantherinae . The family Felidae is believed to have originated in Asia about 11 million years ago . Taxonomic research on felids remains partial , and much of what is known about their evolutionary history is based on mitochondrial DNA analysis , as cats are poorly represented in the fossil record , and significant confidence intervals exist with suggested dates . In the latest genomic study of the Felidae , the common ancestor of today 's Leopardus , Lynx , Puma , Prionailurus , and Felis lineages migrated across the Bering land bridge into the Americas 8 @.@ 0 to 8 @.@ 5 million years ago ( Mya ) . The lineages subsequently diverged in that order . North American felids then invaded South America 3 Mya as part of the Great American Interchange , following formation of the Isthmus of Panama . The cougar was originally thought to belong in Felis ( Felis concolor ) , the genus which includes the domestic cat . As of 1993 , it is now placed in Puma along with the jaguarundi , a cat just a little more than a tenth its weight .
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The cougar and jaguarundi are most closely related to the modern cheetah of Africa and western Asia , but the relationship is unresolved . The cheetah lineage is suggested by some studies to have diverged from the Puma lineage in the Americas ( see American cheetah ) and migrated back to Asia and Africa , while other research suggests the cheetah diverged in the Old World itself . The outline of small feline migration to the Americas is thus unclear .
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A high level of genetic similarity has been found among North American cougar populations , suggesting they are all fairly recent descendants of a small ancestral group . Culver et al. propose the original North American population of P. concolor was extirpated during the Pleistocene extinctions some 10 @,@ 000 years ago , when other large mammals , such as Smilodon , also disappeared . North America was then repopulated by a group of South American cougars .
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= = = Subspecies = = =
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Until the late 1980s , as many as 32 subspecies were recorded ; genetic study of mitochondrial DNA found many of these are too similar to be recognized as distinct at a molecular level . Following the research , the canonical Mammal Species of the World ( 3rd ed . ) recognizes six subspecies , five of which are solely found in Latin America :
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Argentine cougar ( Puma concolor cabrerae ) Pocock , 1940 :
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includes the previous subspecies and synonyms hudsonii and puma
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Costa Rican cougar ( P. c. costaricensis ) Merriam , 1901
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Eastern South American cougar ( P. c. anthonyi ) Nelson and Goldman , 1931 :
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includes the previous subspecies and synonyms acrocodia , borbensis , capricornensis , concolor , greeni , and nigra
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North American cougar ( P. c. couguar ) Kerr , 1792 :
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includes the previous subspecies and synonyms arundivaga , aztecus , browni , californica , floridana , hippolestes , improcera , kaibabensis , mayensis , missoulensis , olympus , oregonensis , schorgeri , stanleyana , vancouverensis , and youngi
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Northern South American cougar ( P. c. concolor ) Linnaeus , 1771 :
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includes the previous subspecies and synonyms bangsi , incarum , osgoodi , soasoaranna , sussuarana , soderstromii , suçuaçuara , and wavula
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Southern South American cougar ( P. c. puma ) Molina , 1782 :
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includes the previous subspecies and synonyms araucanus , concolor , patagonica , pearsoni , and puma
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Incerta sedis
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Florida panther ( P. c. coryi )
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The status of the Florida panther remains uncertain . It is still regularly listed as subspecies P. c. coryi in research works , including those directly concerned with its conservation . Culver et al. noted low microsatellite variation in the Florida panther , possibly due to inbreeding ; responding to the research , one conservation team suggests , " the degree to which the scientific community has accepted the use of genetics in puma taxonomy is not resolved at this time . "
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= = Biology and behavior = =
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= = = Physical characteristics = = =
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Cougars are slender and agile members of the cat family . They are the fourth @-@ largest cat ; adults stand about 60 to 90 cm ( 24 to 35 in ) tall at the shoulders . Adult males are around 2 @.@ 4 m ( 7 @.@ 9 ft ) long nose @-@ to @-@ tail and females average 2 @.@ 05 m ( 6 @.@ 7 ft ) , with overall ranges between 1 @.@ 5 to 2 @.@ 75 m ( 4 @.@ 9 to 9 @.@ 0 ft ) nose to tail suggested for the species in general . Of this length , 63 to 95 cm ( 25 to 37 in ) is comprised by the tail . Males typically weigh 53 to 100 kg ( 115 to 220 lb ) , averaging 62 kg ( 137 lb ) . Females typically weigh between 29 and 64 kg ( 64 and 141 lb ) , averaging 42 kg ( 93 lb ) . Cougar size is smallest close to the equator , and larger towards the poles . The largest recorded cougar , shot in 1901 , weighed 105 @.@ 2 kg ( 232 lb ) ; claims of 125 @.@ 2 kg ( 276 lb ) and 118 kg ( 260 lb ) have been reported , though they were most likely exaggerated . On average , adult male cougars in British Columbia weigh 56 @.@ 7 kg ( 125 lb ) and adult females 45 @.@ 4 kg ( 100 lb ) , though several male cougars in British Columbia weighed between 86 @.@ 4 and 95 @.@ 5 kg ( 190 to 210 lb ) .
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The head of the cat is round and the ears are erect . Its powerful forequarters , neck , and jaw serve to grasp and hold large prey . It has five retractable claws on its forepaws ( one a dewclaw ) and four on its hind paws . The larger front feet and claws are adaptations to clutching prey .
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Cougars can be almost as large as jaguars , but are less muscular and not as powerfully built ; where their ranges overlap , the cougar tends to be smaller on average . Besides the jaguar , the cougar is on average larger than all felids apart from lions and tigers . Despite its size , it is not typically classified among the " big cats " , as it cannot roar , lacking the specialized larynx and hyoid apparatus of Panthera . Compared to " big cats " , cougars are often silent with minimal communication through vocalizations outside of the mother @-@ offspring relationship . Cougars sometimes voice low @-@ pitched hisses , growls , and purrs , as well as chirps and whistles , many of which are comparable to those of domestic cats . They are well known for their screams , as referenced in some of their common names , although these screams are often misinterpreted to be the calls of other animals .
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