New cat species discovered – Fact Check
Question asked:
“A new cat species has been discovered.”
Summary
Researchers have identified a previously unknown wild cat species in Bolivia’s cloud forest, naming it *Leopardus tilcayo* (the Tilcayo tiger cat). This is the first new cat species described in over a century, confirming that a new cat species has indeed been discovered.
Sources 50 searched
- New cat species identified in Bolivia, first in over a century
Find latest environment news from every corner of the globe at Reuters.com, your online source for breaking international news coverage.
- New wild cat species is identified for first time in 100 years, researchers say
Researchers say they’ve identified a new species of wild cat previously unknown to science. The Tilcayo tiger cat is smaller than a typical house cat and lives in the Bolivian cloud forest.
- New cat species discovered in Bolivia for first time in over 100 years - The Washington Post
Named Leopardus tilcayo, the new cat looks not unlike a leopard that shrank to the size of a house kitten.
- New cat species identified for first time in more than a century in Bolivia | Bolivia | The Guardian
New species of wild cat was discovered in Bolivia’s Yungas forest and is smaller than the average domestic cat
- Spotted wildcat from Bolivian forest revealed as new species
The study, published in Current Biology, uncovered further surprises, suggesting there are five rather than three tiger cat species, including the newly described Tilcaya cat (Leopardus tilcayo) of Bolivia.
- Scientists Discover First New Cat Species in Over a Century—and It's Love at First Sight
“The tilcayo is the first living cat species to be discovered and newly named in over a century,” lead study author Jonas Lescroart, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Antwerp in Belgium, told Gizmodo.
- Meet the First New Cat Species Discovered in 100 Years | National Geographic
What’s exciting is the discovery is not a validation of a species proposed in the distant past, nor a previously recognized subspecies raised to species status—which are both more commonly reported and important findings. No, this cat was something totally new to science.
- Meet the First New Cat Species Discovered in 100 Years - AOL
“This study hints that, having split from a common ancestor close to [one million years ago], four distinct margay species exist,” says Sanderson, who is also a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, in an email. For his part, Eizirik says a more focused study of margay genetics will be needed before he’d make such a claim.
- Leopardus tilcayo: Tiny cat discovered in Bolivia said to be 1st new feline species in over 100 years - ABC7 San Francisco
Genetic testing later confirmed it didn't belong to any known cat species.
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