Giant cheetah

The giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis) is an extinct species of big cat; its closest living relative is the modern cheetah.

Morphology
The lifestyle and physical characteristics of the giant cheetah were probably similar to those of its modern relative, except the giant cheetah was the height of a lion at the shoulder (but, due to its light build, it weighed considerably less than a lion). It was roughly twice the size of today's cheetahs, putting it at around 120 kg (260 lb), and about 200 cm (79 in) from head to rump, not including a 140 cm (55 in) tail. Its reconstructed shoulder height was at 90 cm (35 in). It was a specialized sprinter with long limbs just like the modern cheetah with a slightly longer back. This back was highly flexible and allowed great propulsion during a sprint.

Just as with the modern cheetah, almost every aspect of Acinonyx pardinesis was specialized for running. The muzzle is short and the nasal passage large for increased air intake during a strenuous sprint. To make room for the enlarged nasal passage, the maxilla was reduced and the anchorage for the canine roots was less, resulting in shorter canine roots and a shorter, more stout external canine, a characteristic seen in the modern cheetah. To lighten the weight of the animal, bone girth is reduced and the skeleton is lean and light, excellent for running, but not fighting or coping with injuries, severe or minor. Its thoracic cavity was consumed by large lungs and a powerful heart. The intestines were probably shorter, to lighten the animal, and muscles not used for running were reduced. The diaphragm was connected to the movement of its gait and with the stretching phase of a stride, the expansion of space in the abdominal cavity pulled the diaphragm down and forced the animal to inhale, while the contractile phase compressed the lungs and forced air out, so it had no control over its breathing while running, a commonality of most quadruped sprinters. It was a fragile animal that could be killed by a simple sprain (if it meant the individual could not run well enough to hunt). Its tail was long, probably thickly furred, and relatively heavy; it was used as a counterweight to aid in quick directional changes when chasing prey.[citation needed]

One of the most complete skulls of this species is from the well-known French site of Saint-Vallier, but the best collection of postcranial bones came from the older site of Perrier in the Massif Central, including vertebral column and long bones of one individual were found. Unfortunately, the metacarpals were not recovered, so subsequent reconstructions depict them at the same length as the modern Acinonyx.

Distribution and habitat
It could have preyed upon anything from small, contemporary muntjac deer, mountainous ibex and bighorn sheep, to elk and possibly sambar, prey that was considerably larger than the modern cheetah's ideal prey, the Thomson's gazelle. The modern cheetah uses a specific hunting style seen nowhere else in the cat family:[1] on open plains, it locates prey and walks directly towards a group or individual, without crouching, with head and tail down. When it comes within suitable distance (usually 50 yards,[2]) it sprints forward. The chase is fast and takes many turns until the cheetah uses an enlarged dew claw to hook the hind leg of the prey or smack its flanks to either knock it off balance or damage its Achilles tendon. When the prey falls to the ground, the cheetah suffocates it with a throat clamp, and after resting, eats as much as it can on the spot before being chased off by larger predators or occasionally having eaten all it can. This sequence of a chase over an open area and the hooking of the back leg is unique and often necessary for the cheetah: prey that does not flee is addressed with a great deal of confusion on the cheetah's part and is often left unharmed if it cannot be coaxed to flee.

Due to the skeletal structure of Acinonyx pardinensis, the larger species very likely used a similar approach to hunting; it, too, bore a large dew claw and the lean form was definitely built for running. A stalk, sprint, trip, and kill was probably a commonality of the large species' hunting tactics. The modern cheetah almost always uses a throat clamp to suffocate prey and this species of Acinonyx likely used this method of killing. Due to the small canines and weaker jaw muscles of both species, a muzzle clamp (seen in lions) or severing of the spinal cord (seen in jaguars) is generally not an option, so a throat clamp would have been used most prominently.