The 'American Cheetah' Wasn't a Cheetah. New DNA Evidence Shows Just How Wrong Scientists Had It

Miracinonyx trumani , an extinct big cat commonly known as the American cheetah, lived in North America during the Pleistocene. Its nickname comes from its resemblance to modern cheetahs , including physical traits suited for high-speed pursuit. But scientists’ understanding of this ancient predator has changed in recent years, and now, researchers have uncovered surprising new details about the species.

The findings, published today in the journal Current Biology, add to a growing body of evidence that suggests this “cheetah” wasn’t a cheetah after all. Rather, it was a highly adaptive relative of the puma. This new study also expands M. trumani’s range northward. While populations in regions known today as Wyoming and Florida lived as generalist predators in temperate grasslands, populations in the Arctic Yukon—once part of Beringia, a prehistoric land bridge that connected Asia to North America during the last Ice Age—specialized in eating fish.