Ancient Fossil Suggests Origin of Cheetahs

Live Science ^ | 30 December 2008 | Jeanna Bryner

[Coyoteman]

Cool!

[Batman11]

Man I need to get some dinner. I read this thread title as ‘Ancient Fossil Suggests Origin of Cheetos’!

[Islander7]

This skull specimen represents the most primitive cheetah species known to date. (A. View from
the side; B. View from above; and C. View from below). Credit: Shanghai Science &
Technology Museum; People’s Republic of China. Photo courtesy of the National Academy
of Sciences, PNAS.

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

While in Armenia 97/98, their minister of zoology and
a well known hunter swore to me he had seen Cheetahs
in the mountains.

He did say they were a little shorter but heavier.

[JoeProBono]

[meowmeow]

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! I think that picture qualifies this thread for a (big) kitty ping.

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[flowerplough]

have read elsewhere that cheetahs are probably an evolutionary dead end, slouching toward the edge of extinction for thousands of years. Didn’t they have a really rough spot about 6000 years ago?

[SunkenCiv]

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[Slings and Arrows]

Awwww!

[Spktyr]

Yeah, their genetics record a bottleneck somewhere around 6-10,000 years ago - when most of the species died off and they had to repopulate from only a few individuals.

However, a large number of vertebrates also died off or nearly died out at about the same time. Other vertebrates had their numbers severely reduced... including *us*. The cheetahs were lucky enough to not die out completely, but not lucky enough to still have had large numbers of mating individuals survive whatever it was that hit the place.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

/mark

[Biggirl]

Bookmarked. =^..^=

[Biggirl]

How fast do this big kitty can run up to? Just wondering. =^..^=

[Slings and Arrows]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an atypical member of the cat family (Felidae) that is unique in its speed, while lacking climbing abilities. As such, it is placed in its own genus, Acinonyx. It is the fastest land animal, reaching speeds between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph)[3] in short bursts covering distances up to 460 m (1,500 ft), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 110 km/h (68 mph) in three seconds, greater than most supercars.[4]

[Biggirl]

Thanks!