Tiny Bolivian cat is the first new living cat species in a century

The brief in 6 cards

1. Context1 / 6
   • Scientists have identified a new species of small wild cat in Bolivia, South America.
   • It lives in the Yungas, a cloud forest on the eastern slopes of the Andes, where the mountains meet the Amazon basin.
   • The cat is called Leopardus tilcayo. "Tilcayo" is the name local communities already used for it.
   • The study was published in the journal Current Biology in September 2026.
   • Biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz led the fieldwork. The research team worked with scientists in Brazil and Belgium.
2. Key highlights2 / 6

   Smaller than a house cat: The tilcayo is about 46 cm long and weighs around 1.4 kg.

   A century-long gap: It is the first new living cat species formally named and described in more than 100 years.

   Found by chance: A local man found it as a kitten near a forest road and kept it at home. When he realised it was wild, he took it to the Senda Verde animal refuge.

   Only one known: That cat is the only known individual of its species in captivity. Scientists have not yet studied the species in the wild.

   DNA reveals five species: Researchers analysed DNA from 38 cats, including eight museum specimens. They found that tiger cats form five genetically distinct species.

   Much still unknown: Scientists do not yet know what it eats, how it breeds or how far its range extends.

3. Key concepts3 / 6
   1. Cryptic species

   • Cryptic species are species that look almost identical but are genetically separate. They cannot be told apart by appearance alone.
   • Analogy: two strangers in the same school uniform may look alike from a distance. Their family records show they are unrelated.
   • Scientists now use genetic analysis to find such species. They compare DNA to see how long populations have evolved separately.
   • Many "new" species today are found this way, often in old museum collections.

   News connection: Tiger cats looked like one species for decades. DNA showed they are five, and one of them is the tilcayo.

   2. Binomial nomenclature

   • Binomial nomenclature is the two-part naming system for species. Carl Linnaeus popularised it in the 18th century.
   • The first part is the genus, a group of closely related species. The second part names the species itself.
   • The genus begins with a capital letter. The species name is in lowercase. Both are written in italics.
   • Analogy: it works like a surname followed by a given name. The genus is the family, and the species is the individual member.

   News connection: In Leopardus tilcayo, Leopardus is the genus of small American spotted cats. Tilcayo names this particular species.

   3. IUCN Red List

   • The IUCN Red List is the global record of how threatened each species is. The International Union for Conservation of Nature publishes it.
   • The three "threatened" categories are Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable.
   • Other categories include Near Threatened, Least Concern and Data Deficient, used when there is too little information to judge.
   • A newly described species starts as Not Evaluated until experts assess it.
   • The Red List guides conservation, but it is not legally binding on countries.

   News connection: The tilcayo will need its own assessment. Scientists currently know too little about it to judge its risk.

   4. Why splitting a species matters for conservation

   • When one species is split into several, each new species has a smaller range and fewer animals.
   • Analogy: one large bank balance, divided into five accounts, leaves each account much smaller.
   • A species that seemed safe as one large group may be at serious risk as several small ones.

   News connection: The tiger cat group is now five species. Each will need a fresh look at its conservation status.

4. Way forward4 / 6

   Study it in the wild: Survey the Yungas with camera traps and field studies to learn the tilcayo's range, diet and numbers.

   Assess its risk: Evaluate each of the five tiger cat species separately for the IUCN Red List.

   Stop the pet trade: Wild kittens are often captured and sold as pets. Stronger enforcement and public awareness can reduce this.

5. Note5 / 6

   The five tiger cats

   Tiger cats are small spotted wild cats of the genus Leopardus, found in Central and South America. The new study recognises five species:

   Leopardus tigrinus: The long-known name once used for all tiger cats.

   Leopardus guttulus: The southern tiger cat, recognised as separate in 2013.

   Leopardus pardinoides: The clouded tiger cat of the Andean cloud forests, recognised as separate in 2024.

   Leopardus emiliae: Another tiger cat now treated as its own species.

   Leopardus tilcayo: The newly described Bolivian species, entirely new to science.

   What makes the tilcayo different: Most "new" cats were old names or subspecies raised to full species. The tilcayo had never been proposed as a separate animal before.

6. Note6 / 6

   India's own small wild cats

   India is home to more than a dozen wild cat species. A few small ones are frequent Prelims topics:

   Fishing cat: Lives in wetlands and mangroves, including the Sundarbans. It dives to catch fish. IUCN status: Vulnerable. It is West Bengal's state animal.

   Rusty-spotted cat: Among the world's smallest wild cats. It lives in dry forests of peninsular India and Sri Lanka.

   Clouded leopard: Lives in the forests of Northeast India. It is Meghalaya's state animal. IUCN status: Vulnerable.

   Leopard cat: A small spotted cat found widely across India's forests.

   Link to the news: Like the tilcayo, many small cats get far less study than tigers and lions. New species may still be hidden among them.

Swipe or use ← → to move between cards.