A new species of cat was discovered in southern Brazil. It was previously known, but incorrectly identified as a different species that lives in the northeast. This announcement comes from lead author Tatiane C. Trigo from the Federal University of Rio Grande du Sol’s Department of Genetics. The results were published in the most recent issue of Current Biology. This newly discovered species, dubbed Leoparda guttulus was believed to have been the same species as L. tigrinus, a cat that looks incredibly similar with a nearby range that are also known as oncillas. Genetic testing of the mitochondrial DNA of oncillas in the northeastern and southern regions of the cats’ range has confirmed that they are two distinct species who do not interbreed. In fact, they have not interbred for thousands of years. Though the northeastern population is rarer than the southern population, naming tradition requires that the northeastern cats will retain the name L. tigrinus.
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