A black panther is a black (melanistic) color variant of one of several species of larger cat which are often known by the term panther. "Panther" in North America is most commonly use for the cougar (genus Puma), in Latin America it is most often used to mean a jaguar and elsewhere in the world it usually refers to the leopard (both genus Panthera). Panthers are not necessarily black, but may also be normally colored for the species (tawny or spotted), or white.