Plate Nº 90 · recorded October 10, 2026
Biology & EvolutionReported finding
The American "Cheetah" Wasn't a Cheetah at All
Ancient DNA shows the "American cheetah" was a puma relative that reached the Yukon, likely ate salmon, and evolved its build independently, per a new Current Biology study.
By Elena Vasquez4 min read819 words
In brief
- A study published September 4, 2026 in Current Biology shows the 'American cheetah' was a puma relative, not a cheetah.
- Miracinonyx trumani split from the puma lineage about 2.6 million years ago.
- The species' known range extends about 20 degrees of latitude farther north than previously recognized, into the Arctic Yukon.
- Genomes came from fossils 23,000–31,000 years old; adults averaged about 150 pounds.
- Northern populations likely ate anadromous fish such as salmon, while southern cats hunted on land.
The extinct predator known as the American cheetah was not a cheetah at all, according to new research published on September 4 in Current Biology. Ancient DNA and chemical analysis of fossils show the animal was a close relative of the puma — and that northern populations survived Ice Age Yukon partly by eating fish, possibly including salmon.
Scientists led by the University of California, Santa Cruz, sequenced high-coverage nuclear paleogenomes from fossils between 23,000 and 31,000 years old. The team also analyzed stable isotopes — chemical signatures preserved in remains that record what an animal ate. Together, the data redraw the biology of Miracinonyx trumani, a cat that roamed Pleistocene North America and has long carried a misleading nickname.
The study extends the species' known range by about 20 degrees of latitude farther north than previously recognized. In temperate grasslands such as Wyoming and Florida, the cats lived as generalist predators. In the Arctic Yukon, they occupied a different ecological role entirely, feeding at the top of the food chain and likely specializing in anadromous fish — species such as salmon that migrate from the ocean up rivers to spawn.
Adult M. trumani weighed roughly 150 pounds on average, stood about 3 feet tall, and stretched around 8 feet from head to tail tip. Slim bodies and long front legs may have helped them move efficiently across open Pleistocene landscapes. Despite proportions resembling modern cheetahs, these cats were probably far more versatile hunters, able to chase prey on land and use powerful forelimbs to grab and hold it.
"These cats were remarkably flexible, much like pumas are across their range today," said Molly Cassatt-Johnstone, a Ph.D. candidate in UC Santa Cruz's Paleogenomics Lab and lead author of the study. "We found loss-of-function mutations in certain genes that regulate circadian rhythms, suggesting they may have adapted to the extreme light cycles of summers and winters in northern latitudes."
What does this mean for the pronghorn's speed?
For decades, M. trumani anchored a popular theory about Ice Age ecology. Under the "ghosts of predators past" hypothesis, the American pronghorn evolved its extraordinary speed to outrun a cheetah-like pursuer that has since vanished.
The new genomic evidence complicates that story. Researchers confirmed that M. trumani was a sister species of the modern puma, splitting from that lineage about 2.6 million years ago. Its narrow, cheetah-like build appears to be a striking case of evolutionary convergence — unrelated species independently developing similar features under comparable environmental pressures.
How did these cats handle the Arctic?
The genomes revealed genetic features that may have helped northern populations endure the Late Pleistocene. The Yukon fossils came from the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and Vuntut Gwitchin Traditional Territories, with respect for those communities' deep-rooted relationship to the lands.
The analysis also surfaced an unusual sensory trait. M. trumani and every felid lineage sampled lacked a functional gene for a receptor involved in detecting sour tastes. Cats are already famous for lacking a "sweet tooth," but this is the first recorded case in felids of inactivated genes tied to sour taste. Similar sensory losses sometimes accompany highly specialized diets.
"This species of carnivore has this massive range, all the way from the Arctic to the Lower 48," said co-author Matthew Wooller, a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. "They're demonstrating uber-specialization at two ends of their range, while also feeding on two completely different food sources."
Why did the species disappear?
The study offers fresh clues about the cat's extinction near the end of the Pleistocene. Animals from both Wyoming and the Yukon showed low genetic diversity. Unlike modern pumas, however, the populations showed no signs of severe inbreeding or abrupt population bottlenecks — the genetic record points instead to a gradual decline spanning the early to late Pleistocene. That long slide may explain why fossils of the species are uncommon, and why the cats grew increasingly vulnerable.
Senior author Beth Shapiro, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, said low genetic diversity alone did not doom the species. "Miracinonyx persisted for a very long time without the signs of inbreeding we'd expect before a collapse," she explained. "The decline was slow, not sudden, and that may be what left it unable to adapt when the climate shifted."
The researchers caution against identifying extinct animals primarily by physical appearance. The "American cheetah" label, they note, wrongly implies both a close evolutionary kinship with true cheetahs and a similarly specialized hunting style. The study drew on collaboration with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Yukon Palaeontology Program, and Des Moines University. These findings are preliminary in some respects — diet and behavior are inferred from genetic and chemical evidence — but they substantially revise the picture of one of North America's most iconic Ice Age predators.
via news.ucsc.edu (Original)
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