The rosettes on the bodies of leopard and jaguar are so similar that they could belong to the same species. However, only the jaguar has noticeably bold black spots on the mid-dorsal line and chest. The relatively muted patterns on the back and chest of the leopard are consistent with its subtle mimicry of the lion. When far enough away that no spotting is apparent to onlooking onlooking mammals, a sitting leopard will look as plain as a lion.
Another aspect of subtle mimicry of lion by leopard
