A miniature wild cat native to the cloud forests of Bolivia has been identified as a previously unknown species, marking the first time a new cat species has been officially named and described in more than a century.
The cat, known locally as Tilcayo, is part of a group of tiger cats found throughout much of South America. According to the researchers, it was found in the lush Yungas forest in Bolivia, a mountainous region where forests are often covered in clouds and surrounded by high humidity. It is about 18 inches (46 cm) long and weighs about 3 pounds (1.4 kg), making it smaller than the average domestic cat.
Researchers used genetic data to confirm the cat was a new species and gave it the scientific name Leopardus tilcayo, retaining the local name.
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“Its fur is light brown… with irregular rosettes all over its body,” said Paola Nogales-Azcarrunz, a National Geographic explorer and one of the authors of a study describing the newly identified species, published Thursday in the journal Current Biology.
Little is known about the biology and lifestyle of the cat. Remains of small rodents in scat samples suggest they may form part of its diet, and camera trap data indicates it may be more active at night, Nogales-Azcarrunz said.
Tiger cats are so-called cryptic species, meaning they are not easily distinguished by appearance alone, says evolutionary biologist and study co-author Jonas Lescroart of the University of Antwerp in Belgium.
Tiger cats were previously considered a single species, but genetic studies decades ago revealed the existence of several species.
Speaking about the new species, Lescroart said: “Our information at the moment is limited to the two living individuals we have studied and a small number of camera trap records.”
One of the living cats is a 10-year-old cat who now lives at the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary after being kept at their home by a local family.
“Another Animal”
The Bolivian cat sighting sparked interest because “its characteristics did not match the descriptions, most of which are based on Brazilian cats,” Nogales-Azcarrunz said. “It got us thinking: What kind of tiger cat do we actually have in Bolivia?”
The team analyzed the DNA of 38 cats collected from several South American countries, including eight museum specimens. The study found that tiger cats are actually five genetically distinct species.
“We never expected this Bolivian tiger cat to become a separate species, and no one ever proposed it as ‘another animal, subspecies or whatever,'” Lescroart said.
Genetic analysis has shown that the Tilkayo line diverged from other tiger cats about 1.4 million years ago.
“The more differences in their DNA, the longer we estimate that these lineages have been physically separated,” Lescroart said, adding that such a break is generally considered a species-level separation in cats.
The research team also described a new subspecies of tiger cat in the Yungas in Peru, naming it Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo after Antisuyo, the region of the old Inca empire that included the area where it lives.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, which monitors the status of the species, currently lists tiger cats as two “vulnerable” species with declining populations.
The researchers shared their findings with the IUCN, whose upcoming review will evaluate the five lineages individually. This could provide a more accurate picture of risk, Lescroart said, with species like Tilcayo potentially considered endangered if assessed on their own.
The need for clearer assessment is particularly acute in the Yungas, one of the region’s most vulnerable ecosystems.
Mountain forests face increasing pressure from deforestation, agricultural expansion, man-made fires and mining, Nogales-Azcarrunz said. Restoring forest areas damaged by fires, protecting remaining natural forests and maintaining habitat connections are urgent priorities, Nogales-Azcarrunz added.
“Showing the general public that even in a flagship group like cats … new species have yet to be discovered can convey an important message,” said Eduardo Eizirik, an evolutionary biologist at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and senior author of the study. “There are many undiscovered species in the world, and they are at risk of extinction before we even discover them.”
Published – September 18, 2026 12:24 pm EST.
