Cheetah is the fastest cat. The shadow of ancestors, or the paleontology of cheetahs What is the difference between a cheetah and a leopard

Our planet was inhabited at different times by a large number of fauna representatives. However, the populations of many animals began to decline. The main factors of extinction have always been considered to be those related to climate. But with the development of man, many animals disappeared forever. In this article we will talk about extinct wild cats.

Tasmanian tiger (marsupial tiger, Tasmanian wolf, thylacine)

One of the most mysterious animals that has been exterminated is the Tasmanian tiger.

It received its name in honor of its habitat - Tasmania. Despite the fact that to a large extent its name suggests the relationship of a mammal to the cat family, in fact it is a big misconception. Many researchers even classify the mammal as a subspecies of wild dogs.

Length adult could reach 1.4 meters excluding the tail. The length of the tail could exceed 60 cm. The weight of the animal was 6.35-7.7 kg.

European settlers who arrived on the Australian mainland began a rapid hunt for individuals of this species, arguing that Tasmanian tigers were stealers. livestock. By the 1920s, the animal population had been reduced so much that scientists had to list the species in the Red Book. Man finally exterminated the Tasmanian tiger in 1936.

Caspian tiger (Persian tiger, Turanian tiger)

The peculiarity of such tigers is their long stripes along the body, as well as their brown color. In winter, Caspian tigers developed sideburns, and the fur in the belly and entire body became very fluffy and thick.

The weight of the average Caspian tiger was 240 kg.

The Romans used Caspian tigers in gladiatorial fights.

The Caspian tiger lived in Central Asia, as well as the territory northern Caucasus. The rookery of the Caspian tiger could be observed up close in tropical impassable places. But they were all located quite close to the water. In just one day, the Turanian tiger could travel more than 100 km, which indicates the endurance of the extinct animal.

The latest mentions and studies related to this representative of the fauna date back to the 50s of the last century. On January 10, 1954, one of the last individuals was spotted on the territory of Turkmenistan, which migrated from the northern part of Iran. According to some sources, the last Caspian tiger was shot in southeastern Turkey in 1970.

Javan tiger

It got its name because of its main location - the island of Java, located in Indonesia.

Adults weighed 75-141 kg, body length about 2-2.5 meters.

It became extinct relatively recently - in the 1980s, due to habitat destruction, as well as poaching.

Bali tiger

Its habitat is the island of Bali, which is why it was called Balinese.

It is believed that the Bali and Javan tigers had the same ancestor.

The length of the tiger is 0.93-2.3 meters excluding the tail, weight is 65-100 kg.

Externally, this tiger among all subspecies was distinguished by the smallest number of black stripes. There could be dark spots between the stripes.

The tiger is often mentioned in folk stories and in fine arts peoples of the island of Bali.

Bali tigers were destroyed by hunters. The last tiger was killed in 1937.

Pleistocene tiger

The most mysterious feline subspecies, known from fragmentary remains.

Lived in Russia, China and the island of Java.

This is rather an early version of the modern tiger.

European cheetah (giant cheetah)

Lived in Eurasia approximately 500 thousand years ago.

Body length is 1.3-1.5 meters excluding the tail. Weight 60-90 kg. Height 90-120 cm.

Historians have discovered the remains of this cat in Europe, India and China.

Outwardly, he looked like a modern cheetah. The color of this animal remains a mystery. There are suggestions that the European cheetah had long hair.

The European cheetah most likely became extinct due to competition with other cats, which did not leave a free niche for this large predator.

Miracinonyx

Possibly a distant relative of the cheetah. Probably the ancestor of the puma.

Lived about 3 million years ago on the American continent.

Outwardly, it was similar to a modern cheetah, had a shortened skull, with enlarged nasal cavities and high-set teeth.

It was approximately the size of a modern cheetah.

Miracinonyx became extinct 20-10 thousand years ago due to climate change, lack of food and human hunting for it.

European Jaguar (Gombaszog Panther)

Lived approximately 1.5 million years ago, and is the earliest known species Panther genus in Europe.

European jaguars weighed on average about 120-160 kg. They were larger than modern jaguars.

The European jaguar was most likely a solitary animal. He lived in forests, but could also hunt in open spaces.

Pleistocene jaguar

It is believed that it descended from a giant jaguar. Appeared approximately 1.6 million years ago.

It was 1 meter in height, 1.8-2 meters long, excluding the tail, and weighed 150-190 kg.

Pleistocene jaguars lived in dense jungles, swampy floodplains or coastal areas of the Northern and South America.

Extinct 10 thousand years ago.

Giant Jaguar

Lived in North America 1.6 million years ago.

There were two subspecies of giant jaguars - North American and South American.

The jaguar had long legs and a tail, and was the size of a modern lion or tiger.

Scientists believe that jaguars lived on open plains, but due to competition with lions and other big cats, they were forced to find more wooded areas.

Extinct 10 thousand years ago.

Barbary lion (Atlas lion or Nubian lion)

The weight of an adult is 100-270 kg.

This animal was considered the largest lion subspecies. The Barbary lion differed from its fellows in its thick and dark mane, which extended far beyond its shoulders and hung down in the lower abdomen.

In past years, it could be found in Africa, in the northern part of the Sahara Desert. It was brought by Europeans to the Roman Empire, where it was used for entertainment purposes, namely fighting with the Turanian tiger.

At the beginning of the 17th century, its population declined sharply, as a result of which it was visible only in northwest Africa. Due to the fact that at that time the use of firearms against animals, as well as the presence of targeted policies against the Barbary lion have led to a decline in numbers in the region. The last individual was killed in 1922 in the Atlas Mountains on the territory of their Moroccan part.

Cave lion

2.1 meters long, up to 1.2 meters high.

The ancestor of the cave lion is considered to be the Mosbach lion.

Lived in northern Eurasia.

The cave lion, despite its name, did not live in caves, but came there only during periods of illness or old age.

It is believed that cave lions were social animals and lived, like modern lions, in prides.

American lion

Lived approximately 11 thousand years ago.

Body length is about 2.5 meters excluding the tail. The American lion weighed more than 400 kg.

The American lion is descended from the cave lion, whose ancestor is the Mosbach lion. In appearance, it most likely looked like a hybrid of a modern lion and a tiger, but perhaps without the huge mane.

Mosbach lion

Lived about 300 thousand years ago.

The body length of an adult individual reached 2.5 meters excluding the tail; the lions were about 1.3 meters in height. The Mosbach lion weighed up to 450 kg.

It turns out that this was the largest and heaviest subspecies of lion that ever existed.

The cave lion evolved from the Mosbach lion.

Xenosmilus

Lived in the territory of modern North America about 1.8 million years ago.

Xenosmilus weighed up to 350 kg, and its body size was about 2 meters.

Xenosmilus had a powerful build and short but strong legs, and had not very long upper fangs.

Homotherium

Lived in Eurasia, Africa and North America 3-3.5 million years ago.

The ancestor of Homotheria is Machairod.

The height of homotherium is up to 1.1 meters, weight is about 190 kg.

The forelimbs are slightly longer than the hind limbs, the tail is short - Homotherium was more like a hyena than a big cat. Homotherians had relatively short upper canines, but they were wider and serrated.

Homotherians had a difference from all cats - they saw better during the day rather than at night.

Extinct 10 thousand years ago.

Mahairod

Lived in Eurasia, Africa and North America about 15 million years ago.

The name of the genus comes from the resemblance of the teeth of its representatives to the curved swords of the Mahaira. Mahairods looked like giant tigers with 35-centimeter saber fangs.

This Saber-toothed tiger weighed up to 200 kg and was up to 3 meters long.

They became extinct about 2 million years ago.

Smilodon

Lived in America from 2.5 million to 10 thousand years BC. e.

Smilodon was the largest saber-toothed cat, reaching a height at the withers of 1.25 meters, a length of 2.5 meters including a 30-centimeter tail and weighed from 225 to 400 kg.

He had a stocky build, atypical for modern cats. The coloring of these animals could be uniform, but most likely they were spotted, like a leopard; it is also possible that males had a short mane.

Smilodon fangs were up to 29 centimeters long (including the root), and, despite their fragility, were powerful weapons.

Scientists believe that Smilodon were social animals. They lived in groups. The pride was fed by females.

The name "smilodon" means "dagger tooth".

One of the famous cartoon characters Diego from the cartoon " glacial period“This is exactly what Smilodon is.

Tilakosmil (Marsupial saber-toothed tiger)

Lived in South America approximately 5 million years ago.

It was 0.8-1.8 meters long.

It died out 2.5 million years ago, probably unable to withstand competition with the first saber-toothed cats, in particular with Homotherium.

Outwardly, thilacosmil was a large, powerful, stocky predator with huge fangs. His upper incisors were missing.

In general, thilacosmil was not a relative of saber-toothed tigers from the cat family, rather just similar look living in the same conditions.

Acinonyx jubatus) - carnivorous mammal animal, belongs to the cat family, genus cheetah ( Acinonyx). Today this is the only surviving species. The cheetah is the fastest animal in the world: when chasing prey, it reaches speeds of up to 112 kilometers per hour.

Cheetah - description, structure, characteristics

The cheetah's body is elongated, rather slender and graceful, but, despite its apparent fragility, the animal has well-developed muscles. The mammal's legs are long, thin and strong, the claws on the paws do not fully retract when walking and running, which is not at all typical for felines. The cheetah's head is small, with small, rounded ears.

The body length of the cheetah varies from 1.23 m to 1.5 m, while the length of the tail can reach 63-75 cm, and the height at the withers is on average 60-100 cm. The weight of the cheetah ranges from 40 to 65-70 kg.

The short, relatively thin fur of the cheetah is sandy-yellow in color, with dark spots evenly scattered throughout the entire skin, with the exception of the belly. various shapes and size. Sometimes in the area of ​​the head and withers there is a kind of mane of short, coarse hair. On the face, from the inner corners of the eyes to the mouth, there are black stripes - “tear marks”, which help the cheetah to better focus its gaze on prey during the hunt, and also reduce the risk of being blinded by bright lights. sunlight.

How long does a cheetah live?

In their natural habitat, cheetahs live 20, rarely 25 years. Under excellent conditions in captivity, the life expectancy of these predators can increase significantly.

Where does the cheetah live?

The cheetah is a typical representative of such natural areas as deserts and savannas with flat terrain. The animal prefers open areas. The cheetah lives mainly in Africa, in countries such as Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Somalia and Sudan, as well as in Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Chad, Ethiopia, Central African Republic and South Africa. The predators have also been reintroduced into Swaziland. In Asia, the cheetah has been practically exterminated, and if found, it is in very small populations (in Iran).

What is the difference between a cheetah and a leopard?

Leopard and cheetah are animals that belong to the class mammals, order carnivores, and the cat family. belongs to the genus of panthers, cheetah - to the genus of cheetahs. There are a number of differences between these two predators:

• The body of cheetahs and leopards is slender, flexible, and the tail is long. The cheetah's body length reaches 123-150 cm, the leopard's body length is 91-180 cm. The length of the cheetah's tail reaches 63-75 cm, the leopard's tail is much longer and is 75-110 cm.
• An important difference between a cheetah and a leopard is the running speed of the animals. The cheetah is faster than the leopard; when chasing prey, the cheetah runs at speeds of up to 112 km/h. The leopard is noticeably slower, its speed at short distances reaches 60 km/h.
• The cheetah almost never drags its prey up a tree, but the leopard has this habit.
• The leopard's claws are retractable, like those of all cats; The cheetah's claws are partially retractable.
• The cheetah is a diurnal predator, while the leopard prefers to be active at dusk or at night.
• Hunting in a pack is normal for a cheetah, while a leopard is a solitary predator.
• On the cheetah's face there are characteristic black stripes, tear marks, that run from the corners of the eyes to the mouth. The leopard does not have such marks.
• The spots on the skin of a cheetah are clear, but do not form patterns with strict contours. In a leopard, the pattern on the skin is usually collected in spots in the form of rosettes, and the spots can also be solid.
• Leopard cubs are born with spots on their skin, while cheetah kittens have no spots at birth.
• The cheetah's habitat is savannas and deserts, and the predator prefers flat areas. The leopard lives in tropical and subtropical forests, in the mountains, in coastal thickets of rivers, and also in savannas.
• The modern habitat of the leopard is much wider than that of the cheetah. If the cheetah lives only in African countries, and only a few populations live in Iran, then the leopard is distributed not only in African countries south of the Sahara, but also on the islands of Java and Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Pakistan, northern and southern China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Far East near the border of Russia, China and North Korea, in Western Asia (Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Pakistan, the North Caucasus of Russia), on the Arabian Peninsula.

Cheetah on the left, leopard on the right

Subspecies of cheetahs, photos and names

The modern classification identifies 5 subspecies of cheetahs: four of them are inhabitants of Africa, one is very rare in Asia. According to data from 2007, about 4,500 individuals live in African countries. The cheetah is listed on the IUCN Red List ( International Union nature conservation).

African subspecies of cheetahs:

• Acinonyx jubatus hecki – habitat covers the countries of North-West Africa and the Sahara;
• Acinonyx jubatus fearsoni distributed in East Africa;
• Acinonyx jubatus jubatus lives in South Africa;
• Acinonyx jubatus soemmerringi – populations of the subspecies are found in Northeast Africa.

Asian subspecies of cheetah:

• Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) lives in Iran in the provinces of Khorasan, Markazi and Fars, but populations of this subspecies are very small. It is possible (the facts have not been confirmed) that several individuals live in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Total in wildlife There are no more than 10-60 individuals. There are 23 Asiatic cheetahs living in zoos. A predator is different from African subspecies: its legs are shorter, its neck is more powerful, its skin is thicker.

Extinct species of cheetahs

• Acinonyx aicha
• Acinonyx intermedius
• Acinonyx kurteni
• Acinonyx pardinensis– European cheetah

Among the typical colors of cheetahs, there are exceptions caused by rare genetic mutations. For example, the royal cheetah (English: King cheetah) is so special in color. Black stripes run along its back, and its sides are decorated with large spots that sometimes merge together. The first specimen with such an unusual pattern on its skin was discovered in 1926, and for a long time Scientists have debated the classification, considering these cheetahs to be the result of cheetah-serval hybridization, and even tried to classify the king cheetah as a separate species. However, geneticists put an end to the disagreement when, in 1981, at the De Wildt Cheetah Center in South Africa, a pair of ordinary cheetahs gave birth to a cub with a non-standard fur color. Royal cheetahs interbreed well with their counterparts who have a typical pattern on their skin, and healthy and full-fledged offspring are born.

Other colors of cheetahs

There are other mutational abnormalities among cheetahs. In the wild, scientists have noticed predators with all sorts of colors, including:

• Albino white cheetahs;
• Black cheetahs with a barely visible outline of spots (this mutation is called melanism);
• Red cheetahs with golden fur and dark red spots;
• Cheetahs have light yellow or tan colored fur covered with pale red spots.

Sometimes the cheetah's fur has a very dull and faded color, especially for the inhabitants of some desert zones: it is likely that such a nuance lies in the camouflage factor and the maximum adaptability of individuals to existence under the scorching rays of the sun.

How does a cheetah hunt?

In terms of lifestyle, the cheetah is a diurnal predator, preferring to be active during daylight hours. For hunting, the animal usually chooses cool morning or evening hours, but always before dusk, since it most often tracks prey not by smell, but visually. The cheetah rarely hunts at night.

The cheetah's hunting method is very unusual: unlike other felines, this animal does not ambush potential prey, but overtakes it as a result of pursuit, combining very fast running with long jumps. During the chase, the cheetah is able to quickly change its trajectory and often uses this maneuver to deceive the prey. This method of cheetah hunting is determined by its habitat, because open area There are practically no conditions for shelter, so the animal has to run sprint races to get food. The cheetah knocks down the overtaken victim with a blow of a powerful paw, and only then strangles it.

The maximum speed of a cheetah can reach 112 km/h. Despite the large volume of its lungs, even it cannot cope with the rapid speed when running, and, spending a huge amount of energy, the cheetah becomes very tired. This is why almost half of hunting chases end in failure: if the predator does not overtake the prey in the first 200-300 meters, it simply stops pursuing.

The modern cheetah compared to its extinct European cousin. Since the European cheetah lived in areas with weather conditions similar to weather modern Russia and Siberia, we can quite confidently assume that he grew a fur coat similar to those which have modern Ussuri tigers and Amur leopards.

In the drawing, the European cheetah is depicted with a coloration similar to that of the king cheetah, although in reality the coloration is unlikely to differ from that of a common cheetah.

Around the same time, three million years ago, another species more close-up view cheetah. This cheetah is considered a separate subspecies - Acinonyx pardinensis. Its latest remains, found in the territory of Mosbach in Germany, date back to approximately half a million years old. Meanwhile, the cheetah appears in the drawings of the Chouvet cave in France, which date back approximately 30 thousand years. This means that our ancestors could have observed a large cheetah or its current relative in Europe. The differences between the two species apparently lay in size; in all other respects, these cheetahs were most likely identical.

Scientists know quite a few remains of the European cheetah. In many areas of Europe, only single remains of a large cheetah have been found. One important exception to this rule is the Sainte-Vallière valley in the eastern Rhône Valley in France, where the remains of several animals dating back to approximately two million one hundred thousand years have been found. In principle, the rarity of such finds corresponds to what we know about modern cheetahs as being predominantly solitary, with the exception of females with kittens and rare groups in which young males sometimes unite.

It was the discoveries in the Sainte-Valliere valley that allowed scientists to reconstruct the approximate appearance of the European cheetah. The very elongated limbs of the found remains of the European cheetah showed scientists that Acinonyx pardinensis was the same sprinter as the living cheetah. The skeletal structure of the European cheetah also showed that the European cheetah was the size of a small lion, although much lighter in weight.

The European cheetah weighed approximately 60–90 kg (40–60 kg weighs a modern one). Its height at the withers ranged from approximately 90 to 120 cm (a modern cheetah has from 60 to 90 cm at the withers), its body length was approximately 130 - 150 cm ((112-135 modern), with long tail approximately 70 – 95 cm (66-84 modern). The body proportions of the European cheetah were the same as those of its modern relative, which means that it could run at approximately the same speed (and quite possibly faster) than its modern relative, despite its significantly larger size and therefore weight. However, greater weight could mean the presence of greater muscle mass, and therefore greater speed developed by the animal. It is unknown whether the European cheetah needed greater speed or not, but the large body proportions apparently were due to living in a colder climate, and allowed the animal to retain heat longer. Therefore, it is possible that the speed greater than that of the modern cheetah was simply a by-product of the evolution of the northern cheetah species.

The larger size of the animal may have helped it hunt faster and bulkier game. Perhaps the need to hunt such faster animals was one of the reasons for the development higher speed in the European cheetah. The high-speed chase method is generally not suitable for group actions, therefore the number of cheetahs living in a certain area was small. In addition, it should be taken into account that the larger European cheetah apparently consumed more food than its modern African counterpart, and accordingly it needed more animals to hunt over a larger area.

Perhaps this fact, together with the animals' need for territorial separation, largely explains the wide geographical range of distribution of European cheetahs, which arose in the early era of the appearance of cheetahs, and was maintained over a long period of time. The larger size of the European cheetah raises questions about how it hunted. Most likely, its hunting method resembled the hunting methods of modern cheetahs, with the exception of hunting large animals.

We know that modern cheetahs hunt gazelles, impala gazelles, and young zebras. If we draw logical conclusions from here, we can assume that the objects of hunting of the European cheetah were larger gazelles, fallow deer, as well as young animals of the ancestors of wild horses, and other not very large herbivores. But despite its larger size than the modern cheetah, adult horses and large deer were probably not among the animals that the European cheetah hunted, since it was not possible for him to hunt them due to their large sizes.

One of the hunting objects of the European cheetah may have been the antelope-like Procamptoceros, which is the ancestor of modern antelopes, but differed from them in its larger size. The European cheetah was also apparently adapted for hunting in hilly terrain. This is not a strange fact; in some areas of Africa, modern cheetahs hunt in much more hilly areas than one might imagine, in any case, the body structure of the cheetah is similar to the body structure of the ruler of the mountains, the snow leopard.

The giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis) was distributed in Europe and Asia from the Villafranca (late Pliocene-early Pleistocene) to the late Pleistocene. Outwardly, it was very similar to the modern cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), but differed from it, among other things, in its much larger size. Sometimes the giant cheetah is called the European or Eurasian cheetah.

Fossil remains of giant cheetahs have been found in Germany, France, Georgia (Dmanisi), as well as in China and India. In some regions during the Middle Pleistocene era, giant cheetahs lived side by side with such large cats as cave lions (Panthera (leo) spelaea), European jaguars (Panthera (onca) gombaszoegensis) and leopards ( Panthera pardus). The giant cheetah's size overlapped with that of European jaguars and leopards, likely causing intense food competition between these species.

As mentioned above, the giant cheetah was very similar to the modern one, but reached a much larger size. These cheetahs were comparable in linear size to small lions, but had a typical cheetah-like build. The reconstructed height at the shoulder of the giant cheetah was 90 cm. The body length of these predators was about 2 meters, not counting the 140 cm tail. The estimated body weight of a giant cheetah is approximately 100-120 kg. According to other sources - 60-90 kg. The body weight of giant cheetahs from the Dmanisi faunal complex (Georgia), based on the size of the humerus bones, is estimated at approximately 100 kg (this is at least 30 kg more than the weight of the largest modern accelerator cheetah).

Giant cheetahs were highly specialized sprinters and could apparently develop very high speed. The body proportions of the giant cheetah were similar to those of its modern relative; he had the same long and lean legs, but his back was relatively somewhat longer. It is difficult to say whether they could run faster than modern cheetahs or were still inferior to them in speed, since the large linear dimensions and longer back of the giant cheetah suggest that its running speed was even higher than that of the modern cheetah, but it should be noted that In addition to all this, the body mass of the giant cheetah was much greater than that of a modern one, which could affect its running speed. In any case, giant cheetahs were excellent sprinters who could catch up with any animal of that time and cope with large prey that their modern relatives could not handle.

Taxonomy
Squad: Carnivora (carnivores)
Suborder: Feliformia (feliformes)
Superfamily: Feloidea (feliformes)
Family: Felidae (felines)
Subfamily: Felinae (small cats)
Genus: Acinonyx (cheetahs)
View: Acinonyx pardinensis (giant, European, or Eurasian cheetah)

Illustrations

Reconstruction appearance giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis).

The giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis) compared to the modern cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus.)

Skeletons of a giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis), above, a miracinonyx (Miracinonyx inexpectatus), in the middle, and a puma (Puma concolor), below.

Skulls without lower jaw giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis), left, and modern cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), right.

Mandibles of a giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis), left, and a modern cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), right.

European cheetah

European cheetah(lat. Acinonyx pardinensis) is a large species of extinct cheetah from the Feline family that lived in Europe. By the beginning of the late Pliocene, the cheetah had spread widely across Eurasia. In Europe, its earliest records date back to 3 million years ago and are often found in Villafranca deposits.

Most of the fossil remains found are single. The largest number of remains were found in France, in the Sainte-Vallier valley - the eastern part of the Rhone valley, dating back to approximately 2 million years old.

Its most recent fossil remains, dating back approximately 500,000 years, were found in Mosbach, Germany. The cheetah is also present in the cave paintings of the Chouvet Cave, from France, dating back about 30,000 years.

Characteristic

The European cheetah was much larger and heavier than the modern African species, reaching the size of a large lion, and was less specialized. However, he already had well-defined main features of specialization: elongated limbs, weak fangs and others. Body length 130-150 cm, tail length 70-95 cm. Weight 60-90 kg. The height at the shoulders was 90-120 cm. The body proportions were identical to the African cheetah.

The morphology of the European cheetah's dental system differs from that of the modern cheetah: eight have been identified common features with a cheetah, two with a leopard, five transitional and two indeterminate.

Due to the presence of powerful fangs, it can be suggested that he successfully hunted not only gazelles, but also heavier and larger prey, such as early horses, hipparions, Procamptoceros, Gallogoral meneghini and steppe deer.

There is also an assumption that large mass could also mean greater muscle mass, thanks to which he could accelerate even faster when running than a modern African cheetah. Its hunting methods were probably similar to those of modern cheetahs.

Literature

• Based on materials from the Jouranal of Paleontology and “The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives”, (authors: Mauricio Anton, Alan Turner, and F. Clark. Howell). (Columbia University Press, 2000)
• Kurtén B. 1968. The Giant Cheetah, Acinonyx pardinensis. In: Pleistocene Mammals of Europe. Chicago, Illinois: Aldine Publishing Company; p 88-90.

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• Acinonyx kurteni
• Acinopus

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