Paleontology of Cheetahs
Cheetahs are among the later cats to evolve on Earth. They once ranged over a much wider area than they do today. It included North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. The earliest fossils that can definitely be identified as cheetahs date to the Pliocene period (7-2 million years ago). Cheetahs apparently originated in North America. The first known cheetahs were of a genus called Miracinonyx. It includes these species:
Miracinonyx inexpectus
M. studeri
Fossils of these cats have been found in various parts of North America, including these states:
South Dakota
New Mexico
Nebraska
Wyoming
California
Fossils of Miracinonyx date back as far as 4 million years ago. A later genus of cheetahs lived in North America during the Pleistocene period (2 million-50,000 years ago) and survived on the continent to as recently as about 10,000 years ago. This genus is called Acinonyx and the extinct species include:
Acinonyx studeri
A. trumani
[Note - The genus Acinonyx still exists; there is at least one living species of it.]
Fossils of Acinonyx have been found in many of the same general areas where Miracinonyx remains have been discovered. During the Pleistocene, many places that had once been forests turned to grasslands. Cheetahs evolved in terms of speed; this was essential for them to run down prey on the savannahs.
Another Pleistocene cheetah is called Acinonyx pardensis. It was an exceptionally large cheetah. This cat was about the same size as a lion. Acinonyx pardensis died out around the end of the Pleistocene period. It had an extremely wide range; fossils of it have been found in China, India, and southern Europe.
Acinonyx intermedius also inhabited a vast expanse of territory. The domain of this cheetah covered an area that stretched from Africa to China.
Today the habitat of cheetahs is Africa. I have read that there are a few Asian cheetahs (perhaps 200) left in eastern Iran and a tiny part of Afghanistan.
It is a well known fact that the cheetah is the fastest animal on this planet. Cheetahs can run up to speeds of 70 miles per hour. They are thus very adept at running down prey.
Neal Robbins
P.S. The taxonomy of cheetahs is:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Acinonyx
The living species are:
Acinonyx jubatus (the African cheetah)
A. venaticus (the Asian cheetah, assuming there are any left)
P.P.S. The word Cheetah comes from the Hindi word Chitta, which may be derived from the Sanskrit chitakra. Chitakra means "spotted one". People of the royalty and others of high rank in India kept cheetahs for pets. One emperor of India, whose name was Akbar, is said to have owned 9,000 cheetahs. Some people in India used cheetahs to run down game while hunting.
The ancient Egyptians identified the goddess Mafdet with the cheetah. Pharaohs of Egypt often kept cheetahs as companions; the cheetahs were symbolic of the protection of Mafdet.
Genghis Khan had pet cheetahs and so did a medieval European monarch named Charlemagne. Charlemagne imported them, since cheetahs were no longer native to Europe during his time.
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