Cheetah Origins

 

Cats, or felids, are over 23 million years old. There are three lineages of cats. The ocelot lineage was formed about 10 million years ago, while the small cat lineage diverged about 8 million years ago. The third lineage, the pantherine lineage, arose about 5 million years ago. This lineage includes cheetahs, lions, tigers, lynxes and other large cats. The cheetah may have originated within the last 2 to 4 million years.

Cheetah-like cats ranged though out Asia, Europe and Africa, as well as North America. The cheetah we are discussing in this exercise ranged across Africa,the Middle East and Asia within the last 10,000 years. There are approximately seven recognized subspecies of cheetah and may include the King cheetah.

• If you were studying the historical lineage of the cheetah, what other information would you need to know to understand their origin?
• What types of data can be used to determine the time each evolutionary branch occurred?