Puma (genus)

Jaguarundi ( Puma yaguarondi )

The Pumas ( Puma ) are a predator species of the cat family ( Felidae ). They belong to the subfamily of small cats due to their relatively small size. In this genus two living species are summarized:

  • The cougar (Puma concolor) and
  • The Jaguarundi or Jaguarundi ( Puma yaguarondi ).

An extinct species of the genus is known with Puma pardoides from the early Pleistocene of Eurasia.

The Jaguarundi was formerly classified in a separate genus, Herpailurus. Based on molecular genetic studies but a close relationship between these two species was found, so that younger classifications combine them together into a common genus.

The fur of these animals is short and dense and usually colored yellow or reddish gray, mottled adult animals are not unlike many other cat species. Both species are native to the Americas.

DNA studies have also shown that the closest living relatives of this genus is the cheetah. Due to its peculiar physique of this was done in a separate subfamily within the cats Acinonychinae, an organization that can no longer be maintained after the discovery of this community.

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