American cheetah
Conservation status
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Miracinonyx
Species
†M. inexpectatus †M. trumani

The American cheetahs (genus Miracinonyx) were at least two species of feline, morphologically similar to the modern cheetah, but which probably evolved their adaptations for swift running independently. Living from three million to ten or twenty thousand years ago in North America, these cats are known only from fragments of skeletons. They are not of the genus Acinonyx, to which the modern cheetah and its closest ancestors belong, and may be more closely related to species of Puma. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. ... Scientific classification redirects here. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria For the folk-rock band see The Mammals. ... Families 17, See classification The diverse order Carnivora (IPA: or ; from Latin carō (stem carn-) flesh, + vorāre to devour) includes over 260 species of placental mammals. ... For other uses, see Felidae (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Felidae (disambiguation). ... The term morphology in biology refers to the outward appearance (shape, structure, colour, pattern) of an organism or taxon and its component parts. ... This article is about the animal. ... North American redirects here. ... Species P. concolor P. yagouaroundi Puma is a Felidae genus that contains the Cougar (also known as the Puma, among other names) and the Jaguarundi. ...

Two species have been identified: Miracinonyx inexpectatus and M. trumani. Sometimes a third species, M. studeri, is added to the list, but it is more often listed as a junior synonym of M. trumani. Both species are similar to the modern cheetah, with faces shortened and nasal cavities expanded for increased oxygen capacity, and legs proportioned for swift running. However, these similarities are not inherited from a common ancestor, but parallel evolution. Bee hovering in flight In evolutionary biology, parallel evolution refers to the independent evolution of similar traits in closely related lineages of species, while convergent evolution refers to the appearance of striking similarities among lineages of organisms only very distantly related. ...

Taxonomy and evolution

Research into the American cheetah has been contradictory. It was originally believed to be an early cougar representative, before being reclassified in the 1970s as a close relative of the cheetah.^[1] This suggested that ancestors of the cheetah diverged from the Puma lineage in the Americas and migrated back to the Old World, a claim repeated as recently as Johnson et al. (2006).^[2] Other research by Barnett, however, examining mitochondrial DNA and re-analyzing morphology, has suggested reversing the reclassification: the American cheetah developed cheetah-like characteristics through convergent evolution, but it is most closely related to Puma and not to the modern cheetah of Africa and Asia.^[3] The supposed American origin of the modern cheetah is thus equivocal; however, it is believed to have evolved from cougar-like ancestors, whether in the Old or New World. Mitochondrial DNA (some captions in German) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria. ... In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related, independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ...

The cougar and M. trumani are believed to have split from a cougar-like ancestor around three million years ago;^[3] where M. inexpectatus fits in is unclear, although it likely is a more primitive version of M. trumani.^[4]

Miracinonyx trumani

M. trumani was the most similar to true cheetahs in morphology. Living on the prairies and plains of western America, it was likely a predator of hoofed plains animals such as the Pronghorn. In fact, predation by Miracinonyx is thought to be the reason that pronghorns evolved to run so swiftly, its 60 mph top speed being much more than needed to outrun living American predators such as cougars and gray wolves. For other uses, see Prairie (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Great Plains (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Antilocapra americana Ord, 1815 Subspecies The Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae, and the fastest mammal in North America running at speeds of 58 mph (90 km/h). ... Binomial name Antilocapra americana Ord, 1815 Subspecies The Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae, and the fastest mammal in North America running at speeds of 58 mph (90 km/h). ... Binomial name Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 The Gray Wolf (Canis lupus; also spelled Grey Wolf, see spelling differences; also known as Timber Wolf or Wolf) is a mammal in the order Carnivora. ...

The similarity between M. trumani and the cheetah is an example of parallel evolution. As grasslands became more common in both Africa and North America, the separate cat species from both continents evolved to catch the new fleet-footed herbivores. The claws of M. trumani had even become only partially retractable, to be used for better grip at high speeds, just as true cheetahs have fully un-retractable claws. Bee hovering in flight In evolutionary biology, parallel evolution refers to the independent evolution of similar traits in closely related lineages of species, while convergent evolution refers to the appearance of striking similarities among lineages of organisms only very distantly related. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... A deer and two fawns feeding on some foliage A herbivore is often defined as any organism that eats only plants[1]. By that definition, many fungi, some bacteria, many animals, about 1% of flowering plants and some protists can be considered herbivores. ...

Miracinonyx inexpectatus

M. inexpectatus was more similar to the cougar, its proportions between that of the cougar and M. trumani. It had fully retractable claws, and although it was likely faster than the cougar due to its slim build, it is also thought to have been more adept at climbing than M. trumani.

References

Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is considered one of the worlds most prestigious scientific journals. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is considered one of the worlds most prestigious scientific journals. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Artist impression of an American Cheetah hunting