The tilcayo, the tiny spotted cat from Bolivia's cloud forests described this month as a new species, may be the first of several wild cats awaiting formal recognition. Tadeu Gomes de Oliveira, a Brazilian wildlife biologist, co-chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group and a co-author of the tilcayo study, told Mongabay that the number of recognized tiger cat species could grow from three to six or even seven as genetic studies continue.

That matters beyond taxonomy. Conservation assessments, protected-area planning and trade rules generally work at the species level. When several distinct animals are lumped under one name, a rare, localized cat can look like part of a widespread one, and its decline can go unnoticed.

The finding also changes how readers should think about the tilcayo headlines. The discovery was not a one-off curiosity. It is part of a broader reassessment of South America's small cats, driven by genome sequencing that can separate lookalike populations that biologists once treated as a single species.

A Cat Hidden in Plain Sight in Bolivia's Cloud Forest

Researchers formally described Leopardus tilcayo in a study published in Current Biology on Sept. 17. The cat's body measures roughly 17 to 20 inches (42 to 50 centimeters), not counting the tail, and it weighs about 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms), smaller than a typical house cat. It lives in the Yungas, the humid mountain forests on the eastern slopes of the Andes.

It is the first living cat species described as entirely new to science since the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923, Mongabay reported. Many other recent additions to the cat family came from splitting or reclassifying known populations. The tilcayo had never been formally described at all, although local communities had long used the name that now forms its scientific label.

The research traces back to a small cat that a local family had taken in, which later went to the Senda Verde wildlife sanctuary, where it has lived since 2017, according to National Geographic. Biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz noticed that it did not look like known tiger cats. "If you look at the spots or the tail, they really don't match," she said, as quoted by Earth.com. The team compared genomes from dozens of cats, including decades-old museum specimens, and concluded that South America's tiger cats include five distinct species, with the tilcayo lineage splitting from its relatives about 1.4 million years ago. The study also named a new Peruvian subspecies, Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo.

Genetics Keeps Splitting Familiar Species

For decades, small spotted cats across much of South America were grouped as a single species, Leopardus tigrinus. Researchers later separated the southern tiger cat, Leopardus guttulus, and the Cat Specialist Group accepted the clouded tiger cat, Leopardus pardinoides, in 2024. The IUCN website still lists two species in the group, while the specialist group currently recognizes three.

Oliveira told Mongabay that new genetic work points to additional candidates, including a population from Guyana, and that a population in northwestern Argentina may also prove distinct, though more research is needed. He said body shape and coat patterns are of little help in telling tiger cat species apart, which is why genetics has become central to the question. New research is also raising questions about the classification of margays and other small cats.

The Evidence Behind the New Species Count

The tilcayo description rests on genome-wide data, which is strong evidence for separating lineages. But the species is known from very few animals. According to Nogales-Ascarrunz, two tilcayos have undergone whole-genome sequencing: the male living at the sanctuary and a female that was rescued and released after being attacked by people, Euronews reported.

Researchers do not yet know the tilcayo's full range, diet, breeding behavior or how many live in the wild. The genomic analysis did find an estimated 63 percent decline in a genetic measure of population size, but that change plays out over thousands of years and is not a head count or a recent drop. The same work found that two animals once identified as tilcayos were actually margays, a reminder of how easily these cats are confused.

Oliveira's larger species count is an expert projection, not a finding of the Current Biology paper. Each proposed species would still need published evidence and review before the Cat Specialist Group or the IUCN Red List formally recognizes it. Readers should treat the figure of six or seven as a plausible direction for the science, not a settled number.

Conservation Stakes in the Yungas and Beyond

Splitting species can change conservation priorities quickly. A cat that was once part of a widespread species may, on its own, qualify for a higher threat category, which can shape funding, habitat protection and monitoring. Nogales-Ascarrunz has said the tilcayo is considered vulnerable and could soon be judged at much greater risk, according to AFP reporting carried by Euronews.

The tilcayo's forest habitat faces threats from deforestation and mining, PBS NewsHour reported, citing the Associated Press. Those threats fall hardest on species with small ranges, which is what newly split cats often turn out to have. "All of them are in habitats that are vanishing fast," Oliveira said of the tiger cat lineages.

The tilcayo's story also carries a practical lesson for travelers and residents in wildlife regions. The first known tilcayo was taken in because it looked like an ordinary kitten. The safest course for anyone who finds an unfamiliar young wild animal is to contact local wildlife authorities rather than keep it.

Next steps include camera-trap surveys that Nogales-Ascarrunz is setting up in the Yungas to document the cat in the wild, along with follow-up genetic studies on the candidate species Oliveira identified. The tilcayo is officially new, but what it reveals about hidden diversity in South America's small cats is still being worked out.

What Readers Want to Know

What is the tilcayo?

The tilcayo, Leopardus tilcayo, is a small spotted wild cat from Bolivia's Yungas cloud forests. Its body measures roughly 17 to 20 inches, not counting the tail, and it weighs about 3 pounds. It was described as a new species in Current Biology on Sept. 17, 2026.

Why is the tilcayo considered a major discovery?

It is the first living cat species described as entirely new to science since the Uruguayan pampas cat in 1923. Most other recent additions came from splitting or reclassifying known populations.

How many tiger cat species are there now?

The new study identified five. The IUCN website lists two, while the IUCN Cat Specialist Group currently recognizes three. Specialist Tadeu Gomes de Oliveira says the count could reach six or seven.

What is a cryptic species?

It is a species that looks nearly identical to another but is genetically distinct. Genome sequencing is revealing several of these hidden splits among small cats.

Is the tilcayo endangered?

Its wild population is unknown. Researchers say it is considered vulnerable and could be judged at greater risk as more data become available.

What happens next for tilcayo research?

Camera-trap surveys in Bolivia aim to document the cat in the wild and map its range, while further genetic studies will test whether other tiger cat populations deserve species status.