RT Journal Article
T1 The brain of the North American cheetah-like cat Miracinonyx trumani
A1 Figueirido-Castillo, Francisco Borja
A1 Pérez-Ramos, Alejandro
A1 Hotchner, Anthony
A1 Lovelace, David M.
A1 Pastor-Vázquez, Juan Francisco
A1 Palmqvist-Barrena, Carlos Paul
K1 Craneología
K1 Guepardos
AB The cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, the fastest living land mammal, is an atypical member of the family Felidae. The extinct feline Miracinonyx trumani, known as theNorth American cheetah, is thought to have convergently evolved with Acinonyxto pursue fast and open-country prey across prairies and steppe environments ofthe North American Pleistocene. The brain of Acinonyx is unique among the livingfelids, but it is unknown whether the brain of the extinct M. trumani is convergentto that of Acinonyx. Here, we investigate the brain of M. trumani from a craniumendocast, using a comparative sample of other big cats. We demonstrate that thebrain of M. trumani was different from that of the living A. jubatus. Indeed, itsbrain shows a unique combination of traits among living cats. This suggeststhat the case of extreme convergence between Miracinonyx and its living OldWorld vicar should be reconsidered.
PB Cell Press
YR 2022
FD 2022-12
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/41356
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/41356
LA eng
NO Figueirido, B., Pérez-Ramos, A., Hotchner, A., Lovelace, D.M., Pastor, F.J. & Palmqvist, P. 2022. The brain of the North American cheetah-like cat Miracinonyx trumani. iScience (Open Access), Volume 25, Issue 12, Article Number 105671.
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 20 ene 2026