Which genus has the cheetah as its only living species?

The cheetah is the only living species in the genus Acinonyx.

Its scientific name is Acinonyx jubatus, with Acinonyx identifying the genus and jubatus the species. Unlike genera such as Panthera, which contain several living big-cat species, Acinonyx has only one surviving modern member.

The genus represents a highly specialised branch of the cat family. Cheetahs evolved bodies built for rapid pursuit, including long legs, a flexible spine, enlarged nasal passages and claws that cannot retract fully. Those features help traction and acceleration but make the cheetah less suited to prolonged fights than lions or leopards.

Acinonyx once included extinct cheetah-like species. Fossil forms such as Acinonyx pardinensis lived in parts of Eurasia, while North American “cheetah-like” cats are generally placed in the related genus Miracinonyx. Thus, “only living species” does not mean the genus has never contained other species; it means the cheetah is its sole surviving one.