<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Jaguar range Red: Current range Bright pink: Former range </Td> </Tr> <P> The jaguar (Panthera onca), is a wild cat species and the only extant member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas . The jaguar's present range extends from Southwestern United States and Mexico across much of Central America and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina . Though there are single cats now living within the western United States, the species has largely been extirpated from the United States since the early 20th century . It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List; and its numbers are declining . Threats include loss and fragmentation of habitat . </P> <P> The jaguar is the largest cat species in the Americas and the third - largest after the tiger and the lion . This spotted cat closely resembles the leopard, but is usually larger and sturdier . It ranges across a variety of forested and open terrains, but its preferred habitat is tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest, swamps and wooded regions . The jaguar enjoys swimming and is largely a solitary, opportunistic, stalk - and - ambush predator at the top of the food chain . As a keystone species it plays an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating prey populations . </P> <P> The jaguar has an exceptionally powerful bite, even relative to the other big cats . This allows it to pierce the shells of armored reptiles and to employ an unusual killing method: it bites directly through the skull of prey between the ears to deliver a fatal bite to the brain . </P>

What is the largest cat in the americas