Why In News?

Scientists have formally described a brand-new species of small wild felid, Leopardus tilcayo (commonly known as the tilcayo cat), discovered in the high-altitude forests of Bolivia.

What is Leopardus tilcayo?

The Tilcayo cat (Leopardus tilcayo) represents the first extant wild cat species formally described by zoologists since the Pampas cat (Leopardus fasciatus) in 1923.

Features

  • Size: Ranking among the smallest wild felids on Earth, the tilcayo weighs only 1.5 to 2.0 kg, making it smaller than a standard domestic cat.

  • Dimensions: It has a head-and-body length of 42.5 to 50 cm and a slender tail measuring 25 to 26.5 cm.

  • Coat & Pelage: Its fur is light brown to beige, marked with distinctively large, dark brown to black irregularly shaped rosettes that remain mostly open or partially closed without merging into solid bands.

  • Facial Features: It possesses short rounded ears, long whiskers, and a compact, scrunched-up facial morphology.

  • The species is endemic to high-elevation Andean montane cloud forests in the Bolivian Yungas at elevations around 1,570 metres above sea level.

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Source: THEHINDU

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. With reference to the newly described Tilcayo cat (Leopardus tilcayo), consider the following statements:

  1. It is the first new wild feline species formally described by science in over a century.

  2. Whole-genome sequencing reveals that it diverged from ancestral felid lineages approximately 1.4 million years ago.

  3. The species is endemic exclusively to the semi-arid Caatinga thorn shrublands of eastern Brazil.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Explanation:

Statement 1 is correct: Formally described in September 2026, the Tilcayo cat (Leopardus tilcayo) is the first living wild cat species formally described by science in over a century (since 1923), rather than being a reclassification of known subspecies.  

Statement 2 is correct: Whole-genome sequencing and genetic analyses reveal that the lineage leading to Leopardus tilcayo diverged from ancestral tiger cat lineages approximately 1.4 million years ago. 

Statement 3 is incorrect: The species is not found in the semi-arid Caatinga of Brazil; it is native to the high-elevation Yungas cloud forests of Bolivia.