The Life of Animals | Cheetah | The cheetah has unusually low genetic variability. Skin grafts the between unrelated Cheetahs illustrate the former point in That there is no rejection of the donor skin. The Likely cheetahs evolved in Africa During the Miocene epoch (26 million to 7.5 million years ago), before migrating to Asia. Recent research has placed the last common ancestor of all existing Populations as living in Asia 11 million years ago, the which may lead to revision and refinement of existing ideas about cheetah evolution.
The now-Extinct species include: Acinonyx pardinensis (Pliocene epoch), much larger than the modern cheetah and found in Europe, India, and China Acinonyx intermedius (mid-Pleistocene period), found over the same range. The Extinct genus Miracinonyx was extremely cheetah-like, but recent DNA analysis has shown That Miracinonyx inexpectatus, Miracinonyx studeri, and Miracinonyx trumani (early to late Pleistocene epoch), found in North America and Called the "North American cheetah" are not true Cheetahs , instead being close relatives to the cougar.
The cheetah's chest is deep and its waist is narrow. The coarse, short fur of the cheetah is tan with round black spots measuring from 2 to 3 cm (0.79 to 1.2 in) across, affording it some camouflage while hunting. The tail usually ends in a Bushy White Tuft. The cheetah has a small head with high-set eyes. The adult cheetah weighs from 35 to 72 kg (77 to 160 lb). Cheetahs are 66 to 94 cm (26 to 37 in) tall at the shoulder. Males growing niche to be slightly larger than females and have slightly bigger heads, but there is not a great variation in cheetah sizes and it is Difficult to tell males and females apart by appearance alone. Compared to a similarly sized leopard, the cheetah is Generally shorter-bodied, but is longer tailed and Taller (it averages about 90 cm (35 in) tall) and so it Appears more streamlined. Some Cheetahs have a rare fur pattern mutation of larger, blotchy, merged spots. Known as' King Cheetahs, "they were the resource persons once thought to constitute a separate subspecies but are in fact African Cheetahs; Their unusual fur pattern is the result of a single recessive gene, the 'king cheetah' has only been seen in the wild a handful of times, but it has been Bred in captivity.
The cheetah's Paws have semi-retractable claws (known only in three other cat species: the fishing cat, the flat-headed cat and the Iriomote cat), offering extra grip in its high-speed pursuits. That Adaptations enable the cheetah to run as fast as it does include large nostrils allow for That Increased oxygen intake, and an enlarged heart and lungs That Work together to Circulate oxygen efficiently. Unlike "true" big cats, the cheetah can purr as it inhales, but can not Roar. The cheetah is still Considered by some to be the smallest of the big cats. While it is Often mistaken for the leopard, the cheetah does have distinguishing features, Such as the aforementioned long "tear-streak" That lines run from the corners of its eyes to its mouth, and spots That are not "rosettes". The thinner body frame of the cheetah is also very different from That of the leopard.
The cheetah is a vulnerable species. Once widely hunted for its fur, the cheetah now suffers more from the loss of habitat and prey Both. There are Several geographically isolated Populations of cheetahs, all of the which are found in Africa or Southwestern Asia. The cheetah thrives in areas with the vast expanses of land where prey is abundant.
