加州圣克鲁兹大学的研究推翻了对已灭绝美洲猎豹的传统认识。通过古基因组和稳定同位素分析，科学家证实这种动物实际上是美洲狮的姐妹种，而非真正的猎豹，约在260万年前从美洲狮谱系分化而来1。这项研究已于2026年9月4日发表在《Current Biology》期刊上1。
成年美洲猎豹体型相对较小，体重约150磅，身高约3英尺，头尾总长度约8英尺1。不同地区种群展现出截然不同的生存策略1。北部尤肯地区种群主要依靠鱼类生存，特别是太平洋鲑鱼，以适应北极环境，而南部在怀俄明州和佛罗里达州的种群则为陆地广食性捕食者，在温带草原上捕猎多种动物1。
研究人员分析的化石样本年代为23,000至31,000年前1。遗传分析发现美洲猎豹缺乏功能性的酸味感受基因，这是已知首次在猫科动物中记录的此类基因失活现象1。尽管这一物种的种群遗传多样性较低，但研究发现其衰退是长期逐步的过程，从早更新世到晚更新世没有明显的近亲繁殖迹象1。此外，已知分布范围比以前认知的向北延伸约20度纬度1。
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz have overturned long-held assumptions about an extinct North American predator, Miracinonyx trumani, demonstrating through ancient genome and stable isotope analysis that it was not a true cheetah but rather a sister species to the modern puma that diverged from the puma lineage approximately 2.6 million years ago.1 The findings, published on September 4, 2026, in Current Biology, reveal significant differences in how northern and southern populations of this extinct cat adapted to their respective environments.1
The American "cheetah" stood about 3 feet tall and weighed roughly 150 pounds with a head-and-body length of approximately 8 feet.1 Northern populations inhabiting the Yukon region subsisted primarily on fish, particularly Pacific salmon, while southern populations in Wyoming and Florida hunted terrestrial prey as generalist predators.1 Fossil specimens analyzed in the study ranged from 23,000 to 31,000 years old.1 Genetic analysis uncovered an unexpected finding: Miracinonyx trumani lacked a functional taste receptor gene for sourness, marking the first documented loss of this gene in felids.1 The species exhibited low genetic diversity but showed no evidence of inbreeding; instead, the data indicated a long-term population decline spanning from the Early to Late Pleistocene.1 The known geographic distribution extended approximately 20 degrees of latitude farther north than previously recognized.1
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