In the latest genomic study of Felidae, the common ancestor of today's Leopardus, Lynx, Puma, Prionailurus, and Felis lineages migrated across the Bering land bridge into the Americas approximately 8 to 8.5 million years (Ma) ago. The lineages subsequently diverged in that order.[9] North American felids then invaded South America 3 Ma ago as part of the Great American Interchange, following formation of the Isthmus of Panama. The cougar was originally thought to belong in Felis, the genus which includes the domestic cat, but it is now placed in Puma along with the jaguarundi, a cat just a little more than a tenth its weight. Studies have indicated that the cougar and jaguarundi are most closely related to the modern cheetah of Africa and western Asia,[9][10] but the relationship is unresolved. It has been suggested that the cheetah lineage diverged from the Puma lineage in the Americas (see American cheetah) and migrated back to Asia and Africa,[9][10] while other research suggests the cheetah diverged in the Old World itself.[11] The outline of small feline migration to the Americas is thus unclear. Recent studies have demonstrated a high level of genetic similarity among the North American cougar populations, suggesting that they are all fairly recent descendants of a small ancestral group. Culver et al. suggest that the original North American population of Puma concolor was extirpated during the Pleistocene extinctions some 10,000 years ago, when other large mammals such as Smilodon also disappeared. North America was then repopulated by a group of South American cougars.[10] [edit] Subspecies Until the late 1990s, as many as 32 subspecies were recorded; however, a recent genetic study of mitochondrial DNA[10] found that many of these are too similar to be recognized as distinct at a molecular level. Following the research, the canonical Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition) recognizes six subspecies, five of which are solely found in Latin America:[1] Argentine puma (Puma concolor cabrerae)  includes the previous subspecies and synonyms hudsonii and puma (Marcelli, 1922); Costa Rican Cougar (Puma concolor costaricensis) Eastern South American cougar (Puma concolor anthonyi)  includes the previous subspecies and synonyms acrocodia, borbensis, capricornensis, concolor (Pelzeln, 1883), greeni and nigra; North American Cougar (Puma concolor couguar)  includes the previous subspecies and synonyms arundivaga, aztecus, browni, californica, coryi, floridana, hippolestes, improcera, kaibabensis, mayensis, missoulensis, olympus, oregonensis, schorgeri, stanleyana, vancouverensis and youngi; Northern South American cougar (Puma concolor concolor)  includes the previous subspecies and synonyms bangsi, incarum, osgoodi, soasoaranna, soderstromii, sucuacuara and wavula; Southern South American puma (Puma concolor puma)  includes the previous subspecies and synonyms araucanus, concolor (Gay, 1847), patagonica, pearsoni and puma (Trouessart, 1904) The status of the Florida panther, here collapsed into the North American Cougar, remains uncertain. It is still regularly listed as subspecies Puma concolor coryi in research works, including those directly concerned with its conservation.[12] Culver et al. themselves noted microsatellite variation in the Florida panther, possibly due to inbreeding;[10] responding to the research, one conservation team suggests "the degree to which the scientific community has accepted the results of Culver et al. and the proposed change in taxonomy is not resolved at this time."[13] [edit] Biology and behavior [edit] Physical characteristics Although cougars resemble the domestic cat, they are about the same size as an adult human.

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