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Researchers have revealed the origin and history of modern lions through genetic analysis. According to the analysis of living lions and museum specimens, modern lions' most recent common ancestor lived around 124,000 years ago. 

Modern lions later evolved into two groups; one living in Eastern and Southern Africa and the other residing in Central and West Africa and in India. 

Researchers warned that second group is now endangered which means half the genetic diversity of modern lions is at risk of extinction. 

"Lion populations in West Africa and Central Africa, which have drastically declined over the past few decades, are actually more closely related to the Indian lion than to lions in, say, Somalia or Botswana," Dr Ross Barnett of Durham University, UK, told BBC Nature.

The team of researchers, led by Dr Barnett, sequenced mitochondrial DNA from the museum held specimens. The specimens included  extinct Barbary lion of North Africa, the extinct Iranian lion, and lions from Central and West Africa.

"I was most surprised by the incredibly close relationship between the extinct Barbary lion from North Africa and the extant Asian lion from India," said Dr Barnett.

Researchers also suggested that best way to restore lions to North Africa was reintroducing the closely-related Indian lions to their habitat. 

"This has implications for any future attempts to reintroduce lions into North Africa," said Dr Barnett. "They could probably be re-seeded with Indian lions."

"If you think of lion diversity as two distinct branches then the regions where lions are doing ok, in Eastern and Southern Africa, reflect only half the total diversity," said Dr Barnett, according to BBC.

"The other half is represented by the diversity in India, West Africa, and Central Africa.

"If the West and Central African populations were to slip away, that whole branch would only survive in the tiny Indian lion population."

Details of the findings have been published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.