Acinonyx | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Feliformia |
Family: | Felidae |
Subfamily: | Felinae |
Genus: | Acinonyx Brookes, 1828 |
Species | |
Synonyms | |
|
Acinonyx is a genus within the Felidae family.[1] The only living species of the genus, the cheetah (A. jubatus), lives in open grasslands of Africa and Asia.[2]
Several fossil remains of cheetah-like cats were excavated that date to the late Pliocene and Middle Pleistocene.[3] These cats occurred in Africa, parts of Europe and Asia about 10,000 years ago. Several similar species classified in the genus Miracinonyx lived in North America at the same time; these may have been more closely related to the genus Puma.[2]