New Cat Species Identified in Bolivia, First in Over a Century
Scientists have named Leopardus tilcayo, a small spotted cat from Bolivia's Yungas forests, as the first new living wild cat species described in more than a century.
A small, spotted feline that had been living quietly at a wildlife sanctuary in Bolivia has been formally identified as a species new to science — the first living wild cat to be named and described in more than a century.
The discovery, published Thursday in the journal Current Biology, centres on a male cat housed at the Senda Verde reserve in the country's Yungas region. The animal, now about ten years old, had been taken in by a local family years earlier. It measures just 46 centimetres from head to the base of its tail and weighs about 1.4 kilograms — smaller than an average house cat — with a light brown coat marked by dark, leopard-like spots.
Bolivian biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National Geographic explorer and one of the study's lead authors, was invited to examine the cat by a colleague who found its appearance unusual. "Knowing other wild cats, it was peculiar," she said, describing the animal as remarkably tiny.
To place the cat within South America's feline family tree, researchers compared genomes from more than 30 cats sampled across Colombia, Peru and Brazil. DNA extracted from bones and skins held in museums in the United States and Europe helped fill gaps where fresh samples were unavailable. The analysis indicated that the sanctuary cat belongs to a previously unrecognised species whose lineage diverged from its relatives roughly 1.4 million years ago.
The last feline species to be formally identified was the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923. The new species has been named Leopardus tilcayo, retaining a term already used by communities in Bolivia's Andean cloud forests. "It's our way of honouring their ancestral knowledge and connection to this animal," Nogales-Ascarrunz said.
The genomic work also addresses a long-standing puzzle surrounding South America's tiger cats, which scientists had once grouped as a single species because of their close resemblance. The DNA evidence points to at least five distinct species — four already named, plus the tilcayo.
"Even in groups that are very well studied, like the cat family, apparently there's still a diversity that is hidden," said evolutionary biologist and co-author Jonas Lescroart of the University of Antwerp.
Much remains unknown about the animal in the wild. Researchers have yet to determine its population size, diet, behaviour and full habitat range; its presence has been confirmed only in Bolivia's Yungas forests. Scientists hope the formal designation will support efforts to protect that habitat, which faces pressure from deforestation and mining.
"We should make haste in doing these kinds of discoveries, because all of this biodiversity is under pressure, and it's disappearing as we speak," Lescroart said.