Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Acinonyx
open-in-new
<p><i>Acinonyx</i> is a <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> within the <a href="/facts/Felidae/Fryfw7gm">Felidae</a> <a href="/facts/Family_(biology)/qTrn6E8E">family</a>. The only living <a href="/facts/Species/oDg6b96r">species</a> of the genus, the <a href="/facts/Cheetah/Lk963mfF">cheetah</a> (<i>A. jubatus</i>), lives in open <a href="/facts/Grassland/T4P1kqT0">grasslands</a> of Africa and Asia. </p><p>Several <a href="/facts/Fossil/by7NzIA1">fossil</a> remains of cheetah-like cats were <a href="/facts/Excavation_(archaeology)/D11k38ob">excavated</a> that date to the late <a href="/facts/Pliocene/MjcIVQ86">Pliocene</a> and <a href="/facts/Middle_Pleistocene/UIH3W1Uk">Middle Pleistocene</a>. These cats occurred in Africa, parts of Europe and Asia about 10,000 years ago. Several similar species classified in the genus <i><a href="/facts/Miracinonyx/QWpBpMCp">Miracinonyx</a></i> lived in North America at the same time; these may have been more closely related to the genus <i><a href="/facts/Puma_(genus)/lru4lE33">Puma</a></i>. </p>