A small, spotted wild cat living in Bolivia's cloud forests has been formally identified as a species entirely new to science — the first living cat species to be named and described in more than a century.
Leopardus tilcayo, a 3-pound wild cat from Bolivia's Yungas cloud forests, was described Thursday in Current Biology as the first new cat species named in over 100 years.reuters+1
Genomic analysis of 38 cats across South America revealed that tiger cats, once considered a single species, actually comprise five genetically distinct species.reuters+1
Researchers said the findings could lead the IUCN to reclassify some tiger cats as endangered, especially as Yungas forests face deforestation, fires, and mining.reuters