For the first time in a century, researchers say they’ve identified a new species of wild cat previously unknown to science.
asserted
they → say → science
It is smaller than a typical house cat and lives in the Bolivian Yungas, the cloud forest where the Andes mountains meet the Amazon basin.
asserted
mountains → live → basin
The species was described for the first time in the journal Current Biology on Thursday.
asserted
species → describe → Thursday
It’s rare to find a new, relatively large mammal — unsurprisingly, most new animal species discovered are small in size, said Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, who co-authored the study and leads a wild cat conservation program called the Programa de Investigación de Félidos Bolivia (Bolivian Felid Research and Conservation Program).
asserted
who → ’ → Bolivia
“This time, it’s a cat.
asserted
it → ’ → ?
That’s really novel.
asserted
That → ’ → ?
And it hasn’t happened in 100 years,” she said.
asserted
she → happen → years
“No one else had named it.
asserted
one → name → it
No one else had described it.”
asserted
one → describe → it
“We really don’t know how many cats are still in the wild,” said Nogales-Ascarrunz, whose work as a conservationist is funded by National Geographic.
asserted
work → know → Geographic
“We need science, we need more studies to answer this question, which is actually critical for its conservation.”
asserted
which → need → conservation
Tiger cats — small, wild cats native to South and Central America in the Leopardus genus — face stiff conservation challenges as development and agriculture expand.
asserted
development → face → challenges
The new study says there are five tiger cat species in South America.
asserted
study → say → America
“All of them are in habitats that are vanishing fast,” said Tadeu de Oliveira, another coauthor of the study and an ecologist at the State University of Maranhão in Brazil.
asserted
Oliveira → vanish → Brazil
Leopardus tilcayo might have continued to escape notice if not for Nogales-Ascarrunz’s sharp eyes.
uncertain
tilcayo → continue → eyes
She volunteers at a wildlife rehabilitation center near La Paz called the Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary.
asserted
She → volunteer → Paz
“I saw this cat, it was really, really small, and I couldn’t believe how small it was,” Nogales-Ascarrunz said.
asserted
Ascarrunz → see → cat
“I thought it was a kitten.”
asserted
it → think → ?
The cat had been brought in by a man living in a community in the forest near La Paz, who had mistaken the cat for a domestic kitten, according to details recorded by the sanctuary.
uncertain
who → bring → sanctuary
He had fed the animal noodles, rice and eggs, only to realize it was wild and that he could not take care of it.
uncertain
he → feed → it
So he brought it to the sanctuary.
asserted
he → bring → sanctuary
Initially, colleagues at the sanctuary thought the animal might be a known tiger cat species from Brazil, but Nogales-Ascarrunz wasn’t convinced.
uncertain
Ascarrunz → think → Brazil
“If you look at the spots or the tail, they really don’t match,” she said.
asserted
she → look → spots
Nogales-Ascarrunz did genetic testing, using tissue from the tiger cat and a second animal that also turned up at Senda Verde.
asserted
that → do → Verde
The results from those specimens revealed that the two cats were unique and from the same species, which had diverged from other tiger cat lineages about 1.4 million years ago.
asserted
which → reveal → lineages
That’s enough genetic distance to consider it a new species.
asserted
it → ’ → ?
Nogales-Ascarrunz said, however, that local communities in Bolivia have been aware of the species’ presence for generations.
asserted
communities → say → generations
“This cat, they call it Tilcayo.
asserted
they → call → it
And when you ask, ‘Does it have some meaning in Quechua or Almyra and other indigenous languages?’ they say, ‘No, my grandpa told me that’s the Tilcayo,’” Nogales-Ascarrunz said.
asserted
Ascarrunz → ask → me
“This is a traditional knowledge that they have in the community.
asserted
they → have → community
We want to preserve that knowledge and we didn’t want to give it another name.”
asserted
we → want → name
It’s not rare for scientists to add a mammal species to the taxonomy — they do so about 65 times a year, according to a study released last year.
uncertain
they → ’ → study
But many of those new species — including some recently named wild cats — are the results of a split.
asserted
many → include → split
That’s when scientists realize what was once a single species has sufficient genetic distinctions to become two.
asserted
was → ’ → distinctions
For example, the Sunda clouded leopard found on the island of Borneo — called Neofelis diardi — was first recognized in 2006 when its genome was distinguished from its mainland counterparts.
asserted
genome → find → counterparts
“We didn’t have specimens in museums,” de Oliveira said.
asserted
Oliveira → have → museums
“It had never been collected before.”
asserted
It → collect → ?
Nogales-Ascarrunz said this new species is likely in danger.
asserted
species → say → danger
She views the discovery as yet another argument in favor of conservation.
asserted
She → view → conservation
“It’s a new reason to protect the world,” she said.
asserted
she → ’ → world
The Aporia
