Brazilian-led team finds new feline species in Bolivian forests
A new species of feline, named Leopardus tilcayo , has been identified in the mountain forests of Bolivia, in a region known as Nor Yungas. The discovery was made by researchers led by Eduardo Eizirik, a professor at the School of Health and Life Sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). Notícias relacionadas: Amazon: Indigenous peoples catalog species to…
In the mountain forests of Bolivia, researchers from Brazil have discovered a new species of feline, named Leopardus tilcayo. The identification was led by Eduardo Eizirik, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. This marks the first new feline species to be described in over a century. The study, published in the journal Current Biology, was based on the analysis of a male cat, nicknamed "Tigrino," found as a cub in the Nor Yungas region of Bolivia in 2016.
Genetic testing revealed that the animal did not belong to the previously assumed species (Leopardus tigrinus) but rather to an undiscovered lineage. Eizirik emphasized the importance of discovering and understanding these species to protect them. The research also revealed that the group of "tiger cats," previously thought to be a single species, is in fact made up of five distinct species.
This conclusion was based on genomic analysis of 38 individuals from various regions of South America, including historical specimens from European and US museums.
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