page_title: Acinonyx kurteni
hierarchical_section_title: Acinonyx kurteni
caption_attribution_description: English: Acinonyx kurteni, a reconstruction of the discredited fossil specimen, once thought to be a an extinct cheetah from China. Digital.
context_page_description: "Acinonyx kurteni", or the Linxia cheetah, is a discredited fossil specimen of an extinct cheetah discovered in China. The scientific name was assigned for the skull that was originally described to be that of an extinct species of cheetah, endemic to Asia during the Late Pliocene sub-epoch. It was estimated to have lived around 2.2 to 2.5 Ma BP, existing for approximately 0.3 million years.
  The fossil discovery was reported in 2008, and was claimed to be the most primitive Acinonyx lineage so far discovered. Further, the study concluded that the cheetahs originated in the Old World, not the New World as previously believed. It was thought to share some features with the modern cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, such as in having enlarged sinuses for air intake during sprinting, while its teeth show primitive features.
  After a long suspicion of the authenticity of the fossil, it was finally accepted as a forgery in 2012.
context_section_description: "Acinonyx kurteni", or the Linxia cheetah, is a discredited fossil specimen of an extinct cheetah discovered in China. The scientific name was assigned for the skull that was originally described to be that of an extinct species of cheetah, endemic to Asia during the Late Pliocene sub-epoch. It was estimated to have lived around 2.2 to 2.5 Ma BP, existing for approximately 0.3 million years.
  The fossil discovery was reported in 2008, and was claimed to be the most primitive Acinonyx lineage so far discovered. Further, the study concluded that the cheetahs originated in the Old World, not the New World as previously believed. It was thought to share some features with the modern cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, such as in having enlarged sinuses for air intake during sprinting, while its teeth show primitive features.
  After a long suspicion of the authenticity of the fossil, it was finally accepted as a forgery in 2012.
caption: Reconstruction of "Acinonyx kurteni"
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