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Acinonyx
Acinonyx is a genus that is within the Felidae family, also known as the cat family. The only living species of the genus and most commonly known, the cheetah (A. jubatus) inhabits the open grasslands of Africa and Asia along with parts of Iran. This genus represents a highly adapted lineage within the felids, which specialize in speed and open-terrain hunting. Evidence suggest the Acinonyx genus evolved from other feline ancestors early on, to become specialized in stealth and running.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderCarnivora
- FamilyFelidae
Observations recorded9,958
獵豹屬（英语：Acinonyx）為貓科下的一個屬[1]，現僅存有獵豹（Acinonyx jubatus）1 種，生活在非洲和亞洲的開放草原上[2]。 目录 1 歷史分布 2 分類 3 參見 4 參考文獻 5 外部連結 歷史分布 獵豹屬的成員最早出現於上新世晚期的非洲、歐洲與亞洲，在 10,000 年前除了獵豹以外的其他成員均已絕種[3]。在北美洲有外形相似的北美獵豹，然而北美獵豹在血緣關係上其實更近似於美洲獅[4]。 分類 獵豹屬最早由喬舒亞·布魯克斯（英语：Joshua Brookes）於 1828 年提出。在1993年，獵豹屬被放入單系群 Acinonychini（英语：Acinonychini） 之下。然而分子系統發生學顯示獵豹屬為美洲金貓屬的旁系群，因此現今將獵豹屬歸於貓亞科之下[1]。 在 18 世紀晚期至 20 世紀早期之間，共描述了以下這些獵豹的種與亞種[5]： 獵豹 Acinonyx jubatus — Schreber 1775[6] 東南非獵豹（英语：Acinonyx jubatus jubatus） Acinonyx jubatus jubatus — 指名亞種[5] 亞洲獵豹 Acinonyx jubatus venaticus — Griffith, 1821 東北非獵豹（英语：Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii） Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii — Fitzinger, 1855 西北非獵豹 Acinonyx jubatus hecki — Hilzheimer 1913 令外，也有發現以下獵豹屬的化石種： 巨獵豹 Acinonyx pardinensis † — Croizet et Jobert 1828[7] 間獵豹 Acinonyx intermedius † — Thenius 1954[8] Acinonyx aicha † — Geraads 1997[9] "Acinonyx kurteni（英语：Acinonyx kurteni）" † — Christiansen et Mazák 2008[10]：在中國地質年代為上新世的地層發現一具顱骨，被認為是獵豹屬最古老的成員。然而於 2012 年，A. kurteni 遭到除名，因為其模式標本被發現是由數個中新世化石碎片所拼湊而成的偽造品[11][12]。 參見 北美獵豹 參考文獻 ^ 1.0 1.1 Wozencraft, W. C. Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds), 编. Mammal Species of the World 3rd edition. Johns Hopkins University Press. 16 November 2005: 532–533.
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Article
3 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- See also
- References
Acinonyx is a genus that is within the Felidae family, also known as the cat family. The only living species of the genus and most commonly known, the cheetah (A. jubatus) inhabits the open grasslands of Africa and Asia along with parts of Iran. This genus represents a highly adapted lineage within the felids, which specialize in speed and open-terrain hunting. Evidence suggest the Acinonyx genus evolved from other feline ancestors early on, to become specialized in stealth and running.
The main reasons for all but one species going extinct revolve around climate changes, humans driving these species out of their habitats, and their prey populations shrinking. Climate drastically changed starting in the Pleistocene period, making it difficult to survive in open terrain and grasslands upon which these cats depend. Human civilization also began to change and expand resulting in lots of these species to lose their home or hunting grounds. This also forced some species to be isolated making reproducing more difficult. Another factor of humans expanding was the lack of prey for these cats; their prey were being hunted by humans or being forced from their habitats. These problems played a huge role in the extinction of the historic Acinonyx species.