The tiny wildcat that turned out to be a whole new species

For cat lovers who think they have seen every kind of feline, science has just added a new one to the family.

“Leopardus tilcayo”, a tiny spotted wildcat from Bolivia, has now been formally recognised as a distinct species – the first new living cat species described in more than 100 years.

The tilcayo is part of the South American tiger-cat group and is smaller than the average domestic cat. One known male measures about 45cm from head to body and weighs only around 1.3kg, giving it the appearance of a miniature leopard.

The story of its discovery began in Bolivia in 2016, when biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz received a call from a wildlife sanctuary about what staff described as a “weird cat”.

The animal had originally been found as a kitten near a forest road by a local man, who took it home thinking it was some kind of domestic cat.

After about a year, it became increasingly obvious that his unusually small, heavily spotted companion was very much a wild animal, and it was taken to the Senda Verde wildlife sanctuary.

Nogales-Ascarrunz was fascinated by its round ears, long whiskers and large leopard-like markings, although she initially assumed it belonged to an already known tiger-cat species.

It was only later, after comparing the animal with cats from neighbouring Brazil, that she noticed something did not quite add up. Its markings were different, and modern genetic testing eventually provided the answer.

Researchers compared complete genomes from 38 cats in the Leopardus group and found that the tilcayo was genetically distinct from the other tiger cats.

The analysis suggested its lineage separated from its relatives about 1.4 million years ago – enough evolutionary distance for scientists to recognise it as a separate species. The findings were published in the journal Current Biology.

The name tilcayo was chosen because that is what local communities in Bolivia have long called the animal. Scientists do not yet know exactly where the word originated.

The species is from Bolivia’s Yungas, a lush, mountainous forest region along the eastern slopes of the Andes. Early observations suggest it may be nocturnal and feed on small rodents, but basic questions about how it lives, breeds and behaves remain unanswered.

The researchers are now hoping to use camera traps and further fieldwork to learn more about how many tilcayos exist and how widely they are distributed.

For the time being, cat lovers can simply appreciate the fact that somewhere in the Bolivian cloud forest, a tiny spotted feline has been quietly going about its business for generations – while science took a little longer to catch up.

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.