Thecheetah(Acinonyxjubatus)isanatypicalmemberofthecatfamily(Felidae)thatisuniqueinitsspeedandstealth,whilelackingclimbingabilities.Assuch,itisplacedinitsowngenus,Acinonyx.Itisthefastestlandanimal,reachingspeedsbetween112kilometresperhour(70mph)and120kilometresperhour(75mph)inshortburstscoveringdistancesupto460metres(1,500ft),andhastheabilitytoacceleratefrom0to110kilometresperhour(68mph)inthreeseconds,greaterthanmostsupercars.
Thecheetah'schestisdeepanditswaistisnarrow.Thecoarse,shortfurofthecheetahistanwithroundblackspotsmeasuringfrom2centimetres(0.79in)to3centimetres(1.2in)across,affordingitsomecamouflagewhilehunting.Therearenospotsonitswhiteunderside,butthetailhasspots,whichmergetoformfourtosixdarkringsattheend.Thetailusuallyendsinabushywhitetuft.Thecheetahhasasmallheadwithhigh-seteyes.Black"tearmarks"runfromthecornerofitseyesdownthesidesofthenosetoitsmouthtokeepsunlightoutofitseyesandtoaidinhuntingandseeinglongdistances.
Theadultcheetahweighsfrom40kilograms(88lb)to65kilograms(140lb).Itstotalbodylengthisfrom115centimetres(45in)to135centimetres(53in),whilethetailcanmeasureupto84centimetres(33in)inlength.Malestendtobeslightlylargerthanfemalesandhaveslightlybiggerheads,butthereisnotagreatvariationincheetahsizesanditisdifficulttotellmalesandfemalesapartbyappearancealone.Comparedtoasimilarly-sizedleopard,thecheetahisgenerallyshorter-bodied,butislongertailedandtaller(itaveragesabout90centimetres(35in)tall)andsoitappearsmorestreamlined.
Somecheetahsalsohaveararefurpatternmutation:cheetahswithlarger,blotchy,mergedspotsareknownas'kingcheetahs'.Itwasoncethoughttobeaseparatesubspecies,butitismerelyamutationoftheAfricancheetah.The'kingcheetah'hasonlybeenseeninthewildahandfuloftimes,butithasbeenbredincaptivity.
(Thefastestsprintingspeedischeetahwhilethefastestrunningspeedisatypeoftheantelope)