2023/01/01 by Borja Figueirido, Alejandro Pérez‐Ramos, Anthony Hotchner +3 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
paper · doi:10.1098/rsbl.2022.0483
openalex publication_date 2023/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/10
The North American cheetah-like cat Miracinonyx trumani is an extinct species that roamed the Pleistocene prairies 13 000 years ago. Although M. trumani is more closely related to the cougar ( Puma concolor ) than to the living cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus ), it is believed that both A. jubatus and M. trumani possess a highly specialized skeleton for fast-running, including limbs adapted for speed at the expense of restricting the ability of prey grappling. However, forelimb dexterity of M. trumani has not been yet investigated. Here, we quantify the 3D-shape of the humerus distal epiphysis as a proxy for elbow-joint morphology in a sample of living cats to determine whether the extinct M. trumani was specialized to kill open-country prey using predatory behaviour based on fast running across the prairies and steppe terrains of the North American Pleistocene. We show that M. trumani had an elbow morphology intermediate to that of P. concolor and A. jubatus , suggesting that M. trumani had a less specialized pursuit predatory behaviour than A. jubatus . We propose that M. trumani probably deployed a unique predatory behaviour without modern analogues. Our results bring into question the degree of ecomorphological convergence between M. trumani and its Old World vicar A. jubatus .