A recent study led by the Universidade Estadual do Maranhão has shed light on a previously unidentified species within the oncilla genus, challenging previous classifications of the small spotted cat native to the Americas.
Initially, the oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) was divided into two species in 2013: the northern tiger cat (Leopardus tigrinus) and the southern tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus). However, the latest research suggests that the oncilla comprises three distinct species.
Oncillas, also known as tiger cats, are wild felids approximately the size of housecats, inhabiting montane and tropical rainforests in countries such as Costa Rica, Brazil, and Argentina.
Resembling margays (Leopardus wiedii) and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), albeit smaller with a slender build and narrower muzzle, these feline creatures weigh between 1.5 kg and 3 kg. Their body length ranges from 35 to 60 cm, with a height of about 25 cm.
With a yellowish-ochre background pelage adorned with open rosettes, oncillas consume small mammals, lizards, birds, eggs, and invertebrates. They face threats from habitat loss due to activities such as cattle ranching, agriculture, and local pet trade.
The tiger cat species complex, including Leopardus tigrinus and Leopardus guttulus, is currently classified as globally threatened. These species inhabit ecologically sensitive regions, including the Cerrado, Tropical Andes, Atlantic Forest, and the Talamanca mountain range.
Researchers from Universidade Estadual do Maranhão sought to ascertain the distribution range, characteristics, and differences among tiger cat species and subspecies. In doing so, they identified a previously undisclosed species, the clouded tiger cat (Leopardus pardinoides), encompassing Leopardus tigrinus oncilla and Leopardus tigrinus pardinoides.
Described as a long-tailed cat with short, round ears, weighing 2.27 kg, Leopardus pardinoides displays a distinctive head resembling a margay, featuring dense, soft fur with a rich reddish/orangish/grayish-yellow background color and irregularly shaped medium-large ‘cloudy’ rosettes.
Notably, this newly identified species possesses only one pair of mammae/teats and is found in the vanishing cloud forests of southern Central American and Andean ranges, typically at altitudes above 1,500 m, especially between 2,000 and 3,000 m.
The primary habitats for Leopardus pardinoides include the Talamancan montane forests ecoregion in Central America and the eastern Panamanian montane forests. In South America, its range extends from the Venezuelan Andean forests through various cordilleras into Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina.
