First New Wild Cat Species in Over a Century Named in Bolivia's Cloud Forests

Scientists have identified a previously unknown species of wild cat in Bolivia — the first living wild cat species to be named and described in more than a century.

The small, spotted feline had been living at a wildlife sanctuary in the country's Yungas region, about a two-hour drive from the administrative capital, La Paz, where a local family had left it after finding it in the forest and struggling to keep it as a pet.

The findings were reported on Thursday in the journal Current Biology.

Bolivian biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National Geographic explorer and one of the study's lead authors, said a colleague who thought the cat looked unusual invited her to examine it at the sanctuary, where she had volunteered.

What struck her was its size. The male, now about 10 years old, measures 46 centimetres from its head to the base of its tail and weighs just 1.4 kilograms — smaller than an average house cat. Its light brown coat is patterned with dark, leopard-like spots.

"Knowing other wild cats, it was peculiar," she said. "He really is tiny."

To place the animal in South America's feline family tree, researchers compared genomes — complete sets of genetic instructions — from more than 30 cats across locations including Colombia, Peru and Brazil. Bones and skins preserved in museums in the United States and Europe supplied DNA where fresh samples were unavailable.

The analysis showed that the sanctuary cat belonged to a previously unrecognised species whose lineage split from its relatives about 1.4 million years ago. The last feline species formally identified was the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923.

"During naturalist expeditions in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, this cat was never collected and the species was never properly described," Nogales-Ascarrunz said.

Researchers named the species Leopardus tilcayo, preserving the name used by communities in the tropical cloud forests of the Andes in Bolivia where the animal lives. Some species are named after scientists or explorers; this one was not.

"This isn't an animal that nobody had ever seen before. Local communities knew it existed, but until now science had not recognised it as a separate species," said Wai-Ming Wong, an expert with the global wild cat conservation group Panthera, in an email. Wong was not involved in the new research.

The findings also helped unravel a long-standing mystery about South America's tiger cats, which scientists once classified as a single species because they look so much alike. The DNA analysis pointed to at least five distinct species — four previously named, plus the newly described 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 study co-author Jonas Lescroart of the University of Antwerp.

The next challenge is learning more about these tiny cats in the wild. "We still don't know how many there are," Nogales-Ascarrunz said, adding that researchers have yet to establish details of the new tiger cat's diet, behaviour and habitat. Its presence has been confirmed only in Bolivia's Yungas forests; its full range remains unknown.

A formal species description is usually a first step towards assessing how vulnerable a population is, and scientists hope the designation of the new species will help protect its forest habitat, which faces threats from accelerating deforestation and gold 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.