Children's eBook: Amazing Pictures & Fun Facts on Animals in Nature about Black Panther Panther is a name that comes from "Panthera," the scientific name for the big cat family. This family includes lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars. So, when we talk about a black panther, we may be speaking about a black jaguar in the Americas, known as the Panthera Onca or, a black leopard in Africa and Asia, known as Panthera Pardus.