我还要做成课件的.
參考答案:Acinonyx jubatus (Cheetah)
Range and Habitat
Cheetahs range in the savanna regions of sub-Saharan Africa, and east of the rainforests in central Africa. A small population of approximately 200 cheetahs also occur in the Caspian Sea area in the countries of Iran, Turkey and Turkmenistan. Their range used to extend farther east to the Middle East and India, but have been eliminated and are thought to be extinct in these countries. The largest cheetah population exists in Namibia, with an estimated 2,000-3,000 cheetahs. However, even here their future is not secure, because Namibian farmers loose 10% of their livestock to cheetahs.
Physical Appearance
The cheetah is the most canid of all felines. They are adapted for running very fast. Males are slightly larger than the females. Cheetahs are shaped very differently from other felines. They have long, thin legs; a very lithe body (the same tapering shape as a greyhound); a very small and rounded head; and a very long thin tail that the cheetah uses as a balance when it runs. The cheetah has a yellowish-tawny-golden color coat with white underbody and face, and solid black spots all over its body, and a thick black tear stripe that runs from the inside corner of its eyes to its mouth. Their canine teeth are proportionately small for a cat, in order to make room for their enlarged nasal passages. Cheetahs claws don't retract completely, and their feet are wider in relation to their body size. The soles of their feet are covered with rough scaly pads, in order to grip the ground while they run. All these characteristics help to make the cheetah the fastest land animal on the planet.
Unfortunately, though the cheetah's body was designed for speed, it was not designed for endurance, it is a sprint runner. Cheetahs can only keep up their fastest pace (70 mph) for 400 yards before their body overheats and their muscles begin to tire and produce lactic acid from exhaustion. In fact, the cheetah's body temperature can rise to over 105 degrees Fahrenheit, a fatal temperature. In order to help them get enough air to their huge lungs while they run, their nasal passage is very large and short. Their heart, lungs, bronchial tubes, and adrenal glands are larger, which also aid in the circulation of oxygen rich blood to the muscles.
The cheetah is poetry in motion when it runs. It has an extremely flexible spine, which it can flex and twist to increase its stride up to 20 feet in a single bound! Its hip, ankle, wrist and shoulder joints are also very flexible, as the cheetah sprints and dodges in numerous angles to catch its prey, and needs to be able to maneuver in a split second. The long thick tail acts as a rudder, and by flailing the tail around the cheetah can steer itself at very high speeds.
They are very easy to distinguish from the other large African spotted cat, the leopard, because they look so different. They have spots, whereas the leopard has rosettes. The cheetah is much smaller and thinner, and its legs are longer and very thin, where the leopard is much heavier and more muscular with proportionately shorter legs. The cheetah's head and muzzle is more rounded and smaller than the leopards, and the leopard can jump up in trees and stalk on the ground, whereas the cheetah is restricted to staying on the ground.
