| didascalia3 = Un giaguaro nero. Questi esemplari [[Melanismo|melanici]], come quelli di leopardo, sono noti come [[Pantera nera|pantere nere]].
}}
TheIl jaguargiaguaro isè aun compactfelino anddalla well-muscledstruttura animal.compatta Ite ismuscolosa. theÈ largestil catpiù nativegrande tofelino thedelle AmericasAmeriche, andnonché theil third largestterzo in theassoluto: world,solo exceededla intigre sizee onlyil byleone thepresentano tiger and thedimensioni lionmaggiori.<ref name=Seymour/><ref name="sizes">{{citecita journalpubblicazione |last1=Hayward|first1autore=M. W. |last2=KamlerHayward, |first2=J. F. |last3=MontgomeryKamler, |first3=R. A. |last4=NewloveMontgomery e |first4=A. Newlove |year anno=2016 |name-list-style=amp|titletitolo=Prey Preferences of the Jaguar ''Panthera onca'' Reflect the Post-Pleistocene Demise of Large Prey |journal rivista=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution | volume=3 |page p=148 | doi=10.3389/fevo.2015.00148 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="sizes22">{{citecita journalpubblicazione |last1=Hope|first1autore=M. K. |last2=DeemHope e |first2=S. L. Deem |year anno=2006 |name-list-style=amp|titletitolo=Retrospective Study of Morbidity and Mortality of Captive Jaguars (''Panthera onca'') in North America: 1982–2002 |journal rivista=Zoo Biology | volume=25 |issue numero=6 |pages pp=501–512501-512 | url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11687/Zoo%20Biology%2C%20Vol.%2025%2C%20Issue%206%20Retrospective%20Study%20of%20Morbidity%20and%20Mortality%20of%20Captive%20Jaguars....pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y | doi=10.1002/zoo.20112 |access-date accesso=12 Septembersettembre 2018 |archive-date=9September 2018 |archive-urlurlarchivio=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909000241/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11687/Zoo%20Biology%2C%20Vol.%2025%2C%20Issue%206%20Retrospective%20Study%20of%20Morbidity%20and%20Mortality%20of%20Captive%20Jaguars....pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url urlmorto=no}}</ref> Misura 68-status75 cm di altezza al garrese,<ref>{{cita pubblicazione | autore=liveM. S. Rich | anno=1976 | titolo=The jaguar | rivista=Zoonoz | volume=49 | numero=9 | pp=14-17}}</ref> Itma standsil peso e le dimensioni variano considerevolmente: anche se la maggior parte degli esemplari rientra nel range compreso tra 56 e 96 kg, sono stati documentati maschi di dimensioni eccezionali che raggiungevano i 158 kg.<ref name=r10/><ref name="Animal">{{cvtcita libro |68 autore=D. Burnie e D. E. Wilson | anno=2001 | titolo=Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife |75 città=New York City |cm editore=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |1 isbn=978-0-7894-7764-4}}</ref> tallD'altro atcanto, thele shouldersfemmine più piccole pesano circa 36 kg. Il [[dimorfismo sessuale]] è evidente: le femmine sono del 10-20% più piccole dei maschi. La lunghezza dal naso alla base della coda varia tra 112 e 185 cm. La coda misura 45-75 cm ed è la più corta tra quelle di tutti i [[grandi felini]].<ref name=r10>{{citecita magazinelibro |author1 autore=Rich,R. M.S. Nowak, |year anno=19761999 |title titolo=TheWalker's jaguarMammals of the World |magazine editore=Zoonoz[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] | città=Baltimora | volume=492 |issue p=9831 |pages url=14–17https://books.google.it/books?id=T37sFCl43E8C&pg=PAPA831&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false | isbn=978-0-8018-5789-8}}</ref> Le zampe, molto muscolose, sono più corte di quelle delle altre specie del genere ''Panthera'' di dimensioni corporee simili.<ref name=Gonyea1976/>
Its size and weight vary considerably: weights are normally in the range of {{cvt|56|-|96|kg}}. Exceptionally big males have been recorded to weigh as much as {{cvt|158|kg}}.<ref name=r10 /><ref name="Animal">{{cite book |author1=Burnie, D. |author2=Wilson, D.E. |year=2001 |name-list-style=amp |title=Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife |___location=New York City |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |isbn=978-0-7894-7764-4}}</ref>
The smallest females weigh about {{cvt|36|kg}}. It is [[sexually dimorphic]], with females typically being 10–20% smaller than males. The length from the nose to the base of the tail varies from {{cvt|1.12|to|1.85|m|ftin}}. The tail is {{cvt|45|to|75|cm}} long and the shortest of any [[big cat]].<ref name=r10>{{cite book |author=Nowak, R.M. |year=1999 |title=Walker's Mammals of the World |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |___location=Baltimore |volume=2 |page=831 |url={{Google books|T37sFCl43E8C|page=PA831|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |isbn=978-0-8018-5789-8}}</ref>
Its muscular legs are shorter than the legs of other ''Panthera'' species with similar body weight.<ref name=Gonyea1976 />
Further variations in size have been observed across regions and habitats, with size tending to increase from north to south. Jaguars in the [[Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve]] on the Pacific coast of central Mexico weighed around {{cvt|50|kg}}, which is about the size of a female [[cougar]] (''Puma concolor'').<ref name=foodhabits>{{cite journal |author1=Nuanaez, R. |author2=Miller, B. |author3=Lindzey, F. |year=2000 |name-list-style=amp |title=Food habits of jaguars and pumas in Jalisco, Mexico |journal=[[Journal of Zoology]] |volume=252 |issue=3 |pages=373–379 |url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=58851 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00632.x |access-date=8 September 2006 |archive-date=10 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810211518/http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=58851 |url-status=live }}</ref>
