Skip to main content

American Cheetah

Miracinonyx trumani
The American Cheetah is a cat surrounded in taxonomic controversy. Are they Cheetahs? Are they Pumas? Are they both? Unfortunately, the two species, M. inexpectatus and M. trumani, are known only from fragmentary fossils, so until more turns up it will be difficult to know for sure!

What we do know is that the two species lived in North America during the Pleistocene, from around 3 million to 10,000 years ago. They had characteristics that were very similar to modern Cheetahs (who themselves are taxonomically distinct from all other extant cats). Flat faces, short nasal cavities, flexible backs, and long legs are all similarities between the modern and extinct cats.

However, those similarities might just be due to a case of convergent evolution. There is some evidence to suggest that these Cats are actually relatives of Pumas and Cougers, not Cheetahs. They may have just evolved in the same way as the Cheetah, due to the fact that they lived in the same open plains and hunted the same type of prey. Interestingly, there is a theory that Pronghorn Antelopes, some of the fastest land animals alive, evolved their speed directly as a response to the fast American Cheetahs that hunted them!

There will continue to be questions about the American Cheetahs until we uncover more fossils and information. It may even come to pass that the two species are split up from one another-- M. trumani, for example, is more Cheetah-like than M. inexpectatus.
Status : Extinct for around 10,000 years
Location : North America
Size :  Body length up to 67in (1.7m)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Felidae -- Genus : Miracinonyx
Labels:

Comments

  1. BKJuly 5, 2014 at 9:07 PM

    Actually, cheetahs evolved from pumas, so I believe that they split off in North America, then the Old World genus migrated across.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 28, 2019 at 8:03 AM

    I got a lot of info thx.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed Location :   Cent
Post a Comment
Read more