Bolivia's Tilcayo: First New Wild Cat in a Century

Scientists have described Leopardus tilcayo from Bolivia's Yungas cloud forests, the first new wild cat species discovered in more than 100 years.

Researchers have formally described the tilcayo (*Leopardus tilcayo*), a small spotted cat from Bolivia's Yungas cloud forests near La Paz, publishing the work Thursday in *Current Biology* after research begun in 2021. AFP reports the cat is slightly smaller than a domestic cat at about 45 centimetres, with rounded ears and a leopard-like spotted coat. Locals in the Bolivian Andes had reportedly mistaken the animal for an ordinary house cat, and the nickname they gave it inspired the scientific name. Only two individuals have been found so far.

Biologist and National Geographic explorer Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, part of the research team, called the discovery a remarkable event because no new wild cat species had been described in 100 years — the tilcayo is the first new feline since the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923. Mongabay notes the cat was never formally described before, unlike other species recognized recently through taxonomic revisions, and genetic analysis indicates its lineage diverged from other tiger cats roughly 1.4 million years ago.

A pair of tilcayos — the only individuals found so far — have undergone whole genome sequencing, according to AFP. Mongabay reports that a male now lives at an animal shelter in Yungas after a family handed it in, while a female was rescued and released after being attacked by locals. The genetic work places the cat within the broader tiger-cat complex, where Brazilian biologist Tadeu Gomes de Oliveira says a genetic revolution is underway: the group went from two recognized species to three and could reach six or seven.

The tilcayo arrives amid a wider reassessment of small-cat taxonomy. Mongabay reports that Oliveira, co-chair of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, believes the number of recognized tiger-cat species could rise from three to six or seven, and that new research is raising questions about margays and other small cats. He also argues the current one-million-year genetic split standard for cats is excessive, proposing roughly 400,000 years instead, citing far shorter speciation times in bears, otters and giraffes.

AFP reports the tilcayo has so far only been detected in Bolivia and nowhere else on the planet, and is classified as vulnerable to extinction, though its small numbers could soon place it at much greater risk. Taxonomy matters directly for conservation: Mongabay quotes Oliveira estimating that no more than about 200 munoai pampas cats remain, and arguing that formal species recognition is the key to unlocking focused conservation efforts and funding.

The discovery lands during a busy stretch for new species: Mongabay's interview with Oliveira also points to a planned global monitoring program for small wild cats, while his taxonomy task force works through pending updates, including the already-accepted 41st felid species *Leopardus pardinoides*, which has yet to be reflected on the IUCN website. Notably, new species discoveries extended beyond mammals this week — Nautilus reported the endangered killifish *Laimosemion laranja* was found in the Brazilian Amazon.