New Study Shows “American Cheetah” Was Not a Cheetah After All

Researchers have overturned a long‑standing assumption about Miracinonyx trumani, the extinct North American felid popularly called the “American cheetah.” A paper appearing in the journal Current Biology argues that the animal’s sleek build and elongated fore‑limbs do not make it a close relative of Africa’s cheetah, but rather place it firmly within a different branch of the cat family.

The species, which roamed the grasslands of what is now the United States during the Pleistocene, was first described in the 20th century and quickly earned its nickname because its body shape resembled that of Acinonyx jubatus. Paleontologists used the superficial similarity to suggest a convergent evolution scenario, where two unrelated lineages develop comparable traits to hunt fast‑moving prey.

In the new analysis, a team of vertebrate paleontologists and geneticists re‑examined fossil material, focusing on cranial and dental features that are more reliable indicators of evolutionary relationships than limb proportions alone. Their comparative study included both extinct North American cats and living felids, and they supplemented morphological data with ancient DNA fragments recovered from well‑preserved bone.

The results show that Miracinonyx shares more derived characteristics with the cougar lineage (Puma concolor) than with the true cheetah. Specific dental traits—such as the shape of the carnassial teeth—and DNA markers place the “American cheetah” within the Puma‑related clade, suggesting it diverged from a common ancestor shared with modern cougars rather than from the cheetah lineage.

This reinterpretation has implications for how scientists view predator dynamics on the prehistoric North American plains. If Miracinonyx was more closely related to cougars, its hunting strategy may have differed from the high‑speed pursuits associated with cheetahs, perhaps relying more on ambush or short bursts of speed. Such a shift in understanding also affects reconstructions of the ecosystem, including the roles of contemporaneous herbivores like the American bison and the now‑extinct giant ground sloth.

The study underscores the challenges of classifying extinct species based solely on external morphology, especially when convergent evolution can produce misleading resemblances. It also highlights the growing utility of ancient DNA, which can resolve relationships that skeletal analysis alone cannot.

Going forward, researchers plan to apply similar multidisciplinary approaches to other enigmatic Pleistocene carnivores, hoping to refine the family tree of North America’s extinct megafauna. As more genetic material becomes accessible, the picture of how these ancient predators fit into the broader felid lineage is likely to become clearer.

For now, the “American cheetah” will retain its catchy nickname, but scientists agree that the moniker no longer reflects its true evolutionary heritage.