A small wild cat living in the cloud forest of Bolivia has been identified as a species previously unknown, marking the first time a new living feline species has been formally named and described in over a century.
The cat, called tilcayo by local communities, is part of a group known as tiger cats, found throughout much of South America. It was found in the lush forests of the Bolivian Yungas, a mountainous region where forests are often covered by clouds and surrounded by high humidity. According to researchers, it measures about 46 centimeters long and weighs around 1.4 kilograms, making it smaller than an average domestic cat.
Researchers used genetic data to confirm that it is a new species and gave it the scientific name Leopardus tilcayo, retaining its local name.
“Its fur is light brown, with irregularly shaped rosettes distributed across the body,” explained Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National Geographic explorer and one of the authors of the study describing the new species, published this Thursday in the journal Current Biology.
Very little is still known about the biology and lifestyle of the animal. Remains of small rodents found in fecal samples suggest they are part of its diet, while camera traps indicate it may be more active at night, Nogales-Ascarrunz noted.
Tiger cats are what are known as cryptic species, meaning animals that cannot be easily distinguished just by their appearance, explained evolutionary biologist Jonas Lescroart, from the University of Antwerp (Belgium) and co-director of the study.
For a long time, all tiger cats were considered to belong to a single species, although genetic studies conducted decades ago already pointed to the existence of several distinct species.
About the new feline, Lescroart said: “For now, our information is limited to the two living specimens we have examined and a small number of records obtained through camera traps.”
One of those specimens is a ten-year-old male currently living at the Senda Verde wildlife sanctuary, after having lived for years in the home of a local family.
A different animal
Interest in this Bolivian cat arose because “its characteristics did not match existing descriptions, mostly based on Brazilian specimens,” explained Nogales-Ascarrunz. “That led us to ask: what tiger cat do we really have in Bolivia?”
The team analyzed DNA from 38 cats from several South American countries, including eight museum specimens. The study concluded that tiger cats actually constitute five genetically distinct species.
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“We never expected this Bolivian tiger cat to be a separate species and no one had previously proposed it was a different animal, neither as a subspecies nor in any other way,” said Lescroart.
Genetic analysis suggests that the tilcayo lineage separated from the rest of the tiger cats about 1.4 million years ago.
“The more differences we find in their DNA, the longer we estimate those populations have remained physically separated,” explained Lescroart, who added that such a divergence is usually considered sufficient to define distinct species in felines.
The team also described a new subspecies of tiger cat in the Yungas of Peru, named Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo, referring to Antisuyo, one of the regions of the ancient Inca Empire that included the area where this animal lives.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), whose Red List assesses the conservation status of species, currently considers tiger cats as two “vulnerable” species with declining populations.
Researchers have already submitted their findings to the IUCN, whose next review will evaluate separately the five evolutionary lineages identified. According to Lescroart, this will allow a more accurate picture of extinction risk, and species like the tilcayo could be classified as threatened when analyzed independently.
The need for a more precise assessment is especially urgent in the Yungas, one of the most threatened ecosystems in the region.
According to Nogales-Ascarrunz, these mountain forests suffer increasing pressure from deforestation, agricultural expansion, human-caused fires, and mining. Restoring forest areas damaged by fire, protecting surviving native forests, and maintaining habitat connectivity are urgent priorities.
“Showing the general public that even in such an emblematic group as cats there are still species to discover sends an important message,” said Eduardo Eizirik, evolutionary biologist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and lead author of the study. “There are many unknown species in the world and they risk disappearing before we even discover them.”
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