Acinonyx pleistocaenicus

Asian giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis pleistocaenicus or Acinonyx pleistocaenicus ( (Zdansky, 1925))

Order: Carnivora

Family: Felidae

Time period: middle Pleistocene of eastern Asia

Size: 2,2 m in length, 100-110 cm in height, 80-150 kg of weight

The fossil record of cheetahs in eastern Asia is notably scarce and predominantly fragmented, leaving the evolution of this lineage in eastern Asia largely enigmatic. Acinonyx pleistocaenicus and represent the latest and largest-sized member of the species and shows a suit of traits that distinguishes it from the earlier Early Pleistocene A. pardinensis, and relates it to modern A. jubatus. Shortly after the age represented by Zhoukoudian (0.6–0.7 Ma), the giant cheetah was replaced by much smaller and morphologically different Acinonyx intermedius. This transition supports the independence of these two species, and the latter was likely a new immigrant from Africa around the Early-Middle Pleistocene boundary, together with Panthera spelaea, Panthera pardus, and Parahyaena prisca.

Abacinonyx pleistocaenicus (Zdansky, 1925) Kretzoi, 1929

Acinonyx pardinensis pleistocaenicus (Zdansky, 1925) Hemmer, 2001

Acinonyx pleistocaenicus (Zdansky, 1925)

Cynailurus pleistocaenicus Zdansky, 1925: 23 

Sivafelis pleistocaenicus (Zdansky, 1925) Pilgrim, 1932: 199

Sivapanthera pleistocaenicus (Zdansky, 1925)