Genus AcinonyxBrookes, 1828 Mass Cheetah: 21 – 72 kg Gestation period Cheetah: 90 – 98 days | Tribe Acinonychini Scientific name Acinonyx Height Cheetah: 66 – 94 cm Phylum Chordata | |
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Lower classifications Cheetah, Giant cheetah | ||
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Acinonyx is a genus within the cat family. The only living species of this genus, the cheetah, A. jubatus, occurs and thrives in open grasslands of Africa and Asia. Though often described as a big cat, this term is used primarily to describe cats of the Panthera genus, ruling the cheetah out as a big cat.
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Historical range
Several other species of cheetah-like cats have existed since the late Pliocene epoch but have now become extinct. These cats occupied not only Africa, but parts of Europe and Asia as recently as 10,000 years ago. Several similar species, classified in the genus Miracinonyx, lived in North America at the same time; however, these may have been more closely related to pumas.
Taxonomy
Acinonyx was first described by Brookes in 1828. In 1993, it was placed in a monophyletic subfamily, Acinonychinae. Molecular phylogenetic analysis has shown that it is the sister group of the genus Puma, and it is now placed within the subfamily Felinae.
Species
Several fossil Acinonyx species in addition to the living cheetah have been described: