King cheetah

Cheetah Temporal range: –Holocene, 1.9–0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
South African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus)
Acoustic repertoire of cheetahs
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Acinonyx
Species:	A. jubatus
Binomial name
Acinonyx jubatus (Schreber, 1775)
Subspecies
A. j. venaticus (Griffith, 1821) A. j. hecki (Hilzheimer, 1913) A. j. jubatus (Schreber, 1775) A. j. soemmeringii (Fitzinger, 1855) A. j. raineyi (Heller, 1913)
The range of the cheetah      Former range      Low density      Medium density      High density
Synonyms
List Acinonyx venator Brookes, 1828 Cynælurus jubata Mivart, 1900 C. jubatus Blanford, 1888 C. guttatus Hollister, 1911 Felis guttata Hermann, 1804 F. fearonii Smith, 1834 F. jubata Erxleben, 1777 F. jubatus Schreber, 1775 F. megaballa Heuglin, 1868 F. venatica Griffith, 1821

     Former range      Low density      Medium density      High density

The cheetah /ˈtʃiːtə/ (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large felid of the subfamily Felinae that occurs mainly in eastern and southern Africa and a few parts of Iran. The only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, the cheetah was first described by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1775. The cheetah is characterised by a slender body, deep chest, spotted coat, a small rounded head, black tear-like streaks on the face, long thin legs and a long spotted tail. Its lightly built, slender form is in sharp contrast with the robust build of the big cats, making it more similar to the cougar. The cheetah reaches nearly 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 in) at the shoulder, and weighs 21–72 kg (46–159 lb). Though taller than the leopard, it is notably smaller than the lion. Typically yellowish tan or rufous to greyish white, the coat is uniformly covered with nearly 2,000 solid black spots.