1. Introduction: Cheetah Morphology, Evolution, And Phylogeny

• Limbs come from fish vertebrae • Pelvic girdle becomes fused to vertebral column from tetrapods (primitive amphibians) • Rotation of the knee/elbow, an erect posture are from mammals • Being digitigrade (walking on toes) from carnivores • Retractable claws come from cats • Semi-retractable claws evolved from cheetah

l-fur pigmentation 2- stride length, long + thin limbs particularly in distal (back) end 3- speed + acceleration: lightweight, slender and muscular body 4-(air capacity): wide nostrils, large heart & lung with high functional capacity

A cheetah is characterized by few evolutionary traits which distinguishes it from other cat species → 99% of features are from ancestors from 3500 myr of evolution → 1% of features unique to itself Characteristics: -scapula (pectoral girdle) slides onto the sides of the ribcage, is not directly attached to the vertebral column and its detached from skull -rib cage/muscle sling acts as shock absorber: to keep vital organs intact -tail prevents sliding and keeps body balanced -pelvis (pelvic girdle) is fused to the vertebral column and functions as propulsion mechanism acting as motor and its main function is generating speed specifically acceleration -skeletal structure is very fragile therefore its unable to defend/protect itself must only protect its speed -knee rotation account for support and speed

→ ie. royal cheetah not new species its coloration pattern is only a mutation • cheetahs are under threat due to no genetic variability: evolution only works with genetic variability → ie. if a disease breaks out all cheetahs in a zoo will die because genetically similar however if a disease breaks out a good portion of human population will not die because of genetic variability (ie. flu-some people will always get the flu while some never get theft) - why? no genetic variability? we can ASSUME: Scenario: POPULATION BOTTLENECK ↳ assumption that climate change glaciation majority of cheetahs died only few cheetahs lived i. genetic makeup of cheetah was limited = bottleneck effect

→ CONVERGENT EVOLUTION: no reason for pronghorn to have speed of 95 km/hr, realization of fossils similar to bone structure of cheetah = arms race for speed (how cheetahs became fast) ‘american cheetah’ is the predator to allow for pronghorn’s speed