A Current Biology study revisits Miracinonyx trumani using ancient DNA for ancestry and isotopes for northern diet. UC Santa Cruz and National Geographic report that the extinct cat was closer to pumas than living cheetahs, while Yukon fossils point to a fish-rich diet.
Miracinonyx trumani, commonly known as the American cheetah, no longer looks like an animal that can simply be paired with living cheetahs. The Current Biology study reported by UC Santa Cruz says ancient-DNA evidence places the extinct cat alongside modern pumas. It is a finding about an extinct species' ancestry, not a verdict on the behaviour of living cats.[1], [2]
The research is not only about ancestry. National Geographic reports that four fossils from Wyoming and the Yukon were examined, and that chemical evidence in the Yukon material points to a fish-rich diet. UC Santa Cruz likewise describes northern populations as fish eaters. The fast terrestrial-prey story suggested by the animal's name is therefore not supported for at least these northern specimens.[1], [2]
The two reports make clear two complementary sides of the same study: genetic relationship and dietary traces drawn from fossils. Together they call for viewing Miracinonyx in its own geography and food sources, rather than as a simple North American version of the modern cheetah. The reported inferences are limited to the examined Yukon and Wyoming fossils; they do not construct a broader behavioural history.[1], [2]
