{"id":1926,"date":"2026-09-09T06:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T21:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/briefing\/2026-09-09-american-cheetah-puma-fish-en\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T06:02:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T21:02:00","slug":"2026-09-09-american-cheetah-puma-fish-en","status":"publish","type":"briefing","link":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/briefing\/2026-09-09-american-cheetah-puma-fish-en\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u201cAmerican cheetah\u201d was a puma relative \u2014 Yukon animals also ate fish"},"content":{"rendered":"

2026-09-09 06:02 KST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nuclear genomes recovered from four fossils of the extinct \u201cAmerican cheetah,\u201d Miracinonyx trumani, place it beside living pumas rather than African cheetahs. The lineages split about 2.6 million years ago, and Yukon fossils extend its known range more than 20 degrees of latitude northward.<\/p>\n

Stable isotopes suggest the roughly 31,000-year-old Yukon animals used anadromous fish such as salmon, while a roughly 23,000-year-old Wyoming animal was a terrestrial generalist. Four regional specimens do not show that the entire species always ate fish.<\/p>\n

Why was it called a cheetah?<\/h2>\n

Its slim body and long legs resemble a modern cheetah. Genomes show that similarity arose by convergent evolution, not close ancestry.<\/p>\n

Which fossils were tested?<\/h2>\n

One Wyoming and three Yukon specimens yielded the most complete nuclear paleogenomes yet; isotopes in bone provided dietary context.<\/p>\n

\"The
This AI-generated image explains the topic; it is not a photograph of the actual site, experiment, animal or fossil.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How was fish inferred?<\/h2>\n

Yukon isotope values fit a high trophic position and anadromous-fish use. There were no preserved stomach contents, so \u201cfish specialist\u201d would be too strong.<\/p>\n

What else changes?<\/h2>\n

The northern fossils show survival in a far harsher Arctic setting than previously recognized, challenging a simple high-speed pursuit story.<\/p>\n

What remains?<\/h2>\n

More DNA and isotopes are needed to separate regional movement, diet and extinction histories from a four-specimen sample.<\/p>\n

Primary source and independent checks<\/h2>\n

Current Biology \uc5f0\uad6c\u00b7Cell Press \uc124\uba85<\/a><\/p>\n

Dryad \uacf5\uac1c \uc720\uc804\uccb4\u00b7\ub3d9\uc704\uc6d0\uc18c \uc790\ub8cc<\/a><\/p>\n

Science News \ub3c5\ub9bd \ubcf4\ub3c4<\/a><\/p>\n

The Debrief \ucd94\uac00 \ud655\uc778<\/a><\/p>\n

Read in other languages<\/h2>\n

\ud55c\uad6d\uc5b4<\/a> \u00b7 English<\/a> \u00b7 Espa\u00f1ol<\/a> \u00b7 \u65e5\u672c\u8a9e<\/a> \u00b7 Ti\u1ebfng Vi\u1ec7t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four fossil nuclear genomes confirm a sister lineage to pumas. The fish signal is a local Yukon adaptation, not a fixed diet for the whole species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"class_list":["post-1926","briefing","type-briefing","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/briefing\/1926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/briefing"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/briefing"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}