| Acinonyx | |
|---|---|
 Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) | |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Carnivora |
| Family | Felidae |
| Genus | Acinonyx |
Acinonyx is a genus within the Felidae family. The only living species of this monotypic genus, the Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) occurs in open grasslands of Africa and Asia.
Taxonomy[]
Acinonyx was first described by Brookes in 1828. In 1993, it was placed in a monophyletic subfamily, Acinonychinae, and is considered a close sister group of the Puma genus.
Species[]
Several Acinonyx species were described:
Acinonyx jubatus (Schreber, 1775) (Cheetah) †Acinonyx pardinensis (Croizet et Jobert, 1828) (Giant Cheetah) †Acinonyx intermedius (Thenius, 1954) †Acinonyx aicha (Geraads, 1997) †Acinonyx kurteni (Christiansen and Mazák, 2008) (It is no longer a valid species, probably fraudulent).