Miracinonyx: The 'American Cheetah' That Wasn't

Please enjoy this episode focusing on the Pleistocene Cougar relative Miracinonyx, which developed adaptations for cursorial hunting superficially similar to those of Cheetahs. https://www.patreon.com/c/DrPolaris Thumbnail art by Hodari Nundu Sources used for this episode: Cassatt-Johnstone, M.; Wooldridge, T. B.; Ghosh, S.; Hall, E.; Hewitson, S.; Meachen, J.; Wooller, M. J.; Zazula, G.; Shapiro, B. (2026). "Range and diet diversity in the Pleistocene American "cheetah," Miracinonyx trumani". Current Biology. 36 (18): 4817-4826.e7. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.07.072. Dunn, R. H.; Cooper, C.; Lemert, J.; Mironov, N.; Meachen, J. A. (2019). "Locomotor correlates of the scapholunar of living and extinct carnivorans". Journal of Morphology. 280 (8): 1197–1206. Bibcode:2019JMorp.280.1197D. doi:10.1002/jmor.21024. PMID 31188504. S2CID 186205259. Emslie, S. D.; Meltzer, D. J. (2019). "Late Quaternary vertebrates from the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado, and small-mammal community resilience to climate change since the last glacial maximum". Quaternary Research. 92 (2): 388–407. Bibcode:2019QuRes..92..388E. doi:10.1017/qua.2019.26. S2CID 198418756. Figueirido, B.; Pérez-Ramos, A.; Hotchner, A.; Lovelace, D. M.; Pastor, F. J.; Palmqvist, P. (2022-12-22). "The brain of the North American cheetah-like cat Miracinonyx trumani". iScience. 25 (12) 105671. Bibcode:2022iSci...25j5671F. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105671. ISSN 2589-0042. PMC 9758517. PMID 36536677. Hodnett, J.-P. M.; White, R. S.; Carpenter, M. C.; Mead, J. I.; Santucci, V. L. (2022). "Miracinonyx trumani (Carnivora; Felidae) from the Rancholabrean of the Grand Canyon, Arizona and its Implications for the Ecology of the "American Cheetah"". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 88: 157–185. Nascimento, J. C. S.; Pires, M. M. (2025). "Open ecosystems expansion, competition, and predation shaped the evolution of Antilocapridae". Evolution. 79 (8): 1513–1521. doi:10.1093/evolut/qpaf091. PMID 40319347. Sandom, C. J.; Faurby, S.; Svenning, J.-C.; Burnham, D.; Dickman, A.; Hinks, A. E.; Macdonald, E. A.; Ripple, W. J.; Williams, J.; Macdonald, D. W. (2018). "Learning from the past to prepare for the future: felids face continued threat from declining prey". Ecography. 41 (1): 140–152. doi:10.1111/ecog.03303. Van Valkenburgh, B.; Grady, F.; Kurtén, B. (1990). "The Plio-Pleistocene Cheetah-Like Cat Miracinonyx inexpectatus of North America". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 10 (4): 434–454. Bibcode:1990JVPal..10..434V. doi:10.1080/02724634.1990.10011827. ISSN 0272-4634. JSTOR 4523343. Witt, B.; Hotchner, A.; Meachen, J. (2026). "A case of mistaken identity: a reassessment of puma (Puma concolor) and the North American cheetah-like cat (Miracinonyx trumani) occurrences in the fossil record of Upper Pleistocene North America". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 46 (4) e2687611. doi:10.1080/02724634.2026.2687611.