The Cheetah: Native American

Abstract
Two North American fossil species of large felids, hitherto regarded as Late Cenozoic pumas (mountain lion), are in fact closely related to the living cheetah, Acinonyx , of Africa and Eurasia. A new subgenus ( Miracinonyx ) is proposed for the American species. Cheetahs and pumas may have had a common ancestor in the Miocene of North America.