Leopardus tilcayo is the primary new residing cat species named and described in additional than a century.
Revealed On 18 Sep 2026
A tiny wild cat that lives in Bolivia’s lush cloud forests has been recognized as a beforehand unknown species, marking the primary time in additional than a century {that a} new residing feline species has been formally named and described.
Known as “tilcayo” by native communities, the cat is a part of a gaggle known as tiger cats, that are discovered throughout a lot of South America.
Advisable Tales
checklist of two gadgetsfinish of checklist
It was found within the Yungas forest, a mountainous area the place forests are sometimes lined by clouds and surrounded by excessive humidity, in response to the researchers.
Given the scientific identify Leopardus tilcayo, the cat measures 46cm (18 inches) lengthy and weighs about 1.4kg (3 kilos), making it smaller than a mean home cat.
“Its fur is gentle brown … with irregularly formed rosettes throughout its physique,” in response to Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a Nationwide Geographic Explorer and one of many authors of the examine describing the newly recognized species printed on Thursday within the journal Present Biology.
Little is understood concerning the cat’s biology and life-style. Stays of small rodents in scat samples counsel they could type a part of its food regimen, whereas camera-trap proof signifies it may very well be extra energetic at night time, Nogales-Ascarrunz mentioned.
Tiger cats are so-called cryptic species, that means they can not simply be distinguished merely by look, evolutionary biologist and examine co-lead creator Jonas Lescroart of the College of Antwerp in Belgium mentioned.
Observing the Bolivian cat drew curiosity as a result of “its traits didn’t match the descriptions, most of them based mostly on Brazilian cats”, Nogales-Ascarrunz mentioned. “This made us marvel, what tiger cat will we even have in Bolivia?”
The group analysed DNA from 38 cats sampled throughout a number of South American international locations, together with eight museum specimens. The examine discovered that tiger cats are the truth is 5 genetically distinct species.
“We by no means anticipated this Bolivian tiger cat to be a separate species, and nobody had ever proposed it as a special animal, subspecies or in any other case,” Jonas Lescroart mentioned.
Genetic evaluation instructed that the tilcayo lineage separated from different tiger cats about 1.4 million years in the past.
The analysis group additionally described a brand new tiger cat subspecies in Peru’s Yungas, naming it Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo, after Antisuyu, the area of the previous Inca Empire that included the realm it inhabits.
