What ring-shaped coat markings are seen on leopards and jaguars?

The ring-shaped coat markings on leopards and jaguars are called rosettes.

A rosette is a rose-like pattern formed by groups of dark markings. Leopards and jaguars both have these patterns across much of the body, but the designs are not identical: jaguar rosettes often contain central spots, whereas typical leopard rosettes generally lack those inner spots and are smaller and denser.

The markings are thought to provide camouflage. In forest and woodland habitats, broken sunlight and shadow can make a cat’s outline difficult to detect, helping it approach prey during an ambush. Pattern formation involves pigment-producing melanocytes and genetic regulators such as the agouti signaling protein and melanocortin-1 receptor.

Not every marking on a spotted cat is a rosette. Cheetahs have solid spots, and lions may retain faint rosette-like markings as cubs that usually fade with age. “Bands,” “stripes” and “chevrons” describe other pattern types, so rosettes is the precise answer for these leopard and jaguar markings.