Prehistoric Yukon ‘Cheetahs’ Were Fish Eaters, Not Really Cheetahs at All: Study
Ancient DNA and isotopes show the extinct cat was a puma relative that ranged into the Arctic and ate fish in the north.
- New research published Friday in Current Biology reveals the extinct Miracinonyx trumani, long called the "American cheetah," was actually a puma relative, according to genetic analysis by Molly Cassatt-Johnstone of the University of California, Santa Cruz.
- Paleontologists originally classified M. trumani as a cheetah due to its slender frame and large nasal cavities; DNA evidence now confirms the species diverged from a common puma ancestor about 2.6 million years ago.
- While southern populations hunted herbivores, Yukon fossils from 30,000 years ago show these cats subsisted primarily on fish, a unique "fishing niche" Yukon paleontologist Grant Zazula said allowed them to thrive in the harsh Arctic environment.
- Genetic analysis reveals M. trumani possessed non-functional circadian rhythm genes, potentially aiding adaptation to extreme Arctic daylight cycles; Zazula described the finding as a "complete detective story" illustrating how the species carved out a unique survival strategy.
- National Geographic Explorer Julie Meachen, who co-authored the study, called the findings the first published record of Miracinonyx in Canada, expanding the species' known range and proving it was far more adaptable than previously assumed.
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27 Articles
Science Writing, 4 Sep (EFE).- A scientific study has found that the so-called ‘American cheetah’ (Miracinonyx trumani), an extinct predator who lived in North America in the Pleistocene, was, in fact, closely related to the puma and not to the African cheetah. The study, published this Friday in Current Biology and led by the University of [...] The entry Ancient DNA reveals that the ‘American cheetah’ was not a cheetah was first published in H…
The Toronto Star
Prehistoric Yukon ‘cheetahs’ were fish eaters, not really cheetahs at all: study
Slender, agile cheetahs that roamed the Yukon 30,000 years ago were not technically cheetahs at all, but relatives of the puma that adapted to mostly eat fish instead of antelopes
Winnipeg Free Press
Prehistoric Yukon 'cheetahs' were fish eaters, not really cheetahs at all: study
Slender, agile cheetahs that roamed the Yukon 30,000 years ago were not technically cheetahs at all, but relatives of the puma that adapted to mostly eat fish instead of antelopes in a harsh northern climate, new research shows.
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