After more than a hundred years, a new species of wild cat has been identified.
Scientists have named it 'Tigrino'. It is found in the forests of Bolivia in South America.
The size of this small wild cat is the same as that of a domestic cat. But it remained unnoticed by scientists for a long time, because its spots and stripes look like those of other wild cats in the area.
Now DNA testing has shown that this cat is a separate species in itself.
This discovery also shows that there is still very little information about some of the world's mammalian creatures, which are extremely difficult to see.
Scientists hope that after this discovery, people will pay attention to saving tiger cats.
Tiger cats are a group of small wild cats found in South and Central America. In comparison to big cats like lion, leopard and tiger, they get very little attention from people.
Tiger cats are small and spotted wild cats. They are found in Central and South America from Costa Rica to Bolivia and Argentina.
They are so similar to each other that sometimes even experts find it difficult to differentiate between them.
"It is a very surprising discovery that we have found a new species for the world. Its name is Leopardus tilcayo," said Paola Nogales-Ascarunz of the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia.
He said, "It is also surprising to know that there are still new species waiting to be discovered. To find them, we do not need to go to any volcano, island or deep in the ocean."
Currently only one living cat of this species has been confirmed. She lives in a rescue center in Bolivia. However, scientists think that other cats of this species also exist.
Scientists found the way to discover this new species from this 10-year-old cat named Tigrino.
Bolivian scientist Dr. Nogales-Ascarunz was serving in this rescue center. During that time he noticed that this cat looked different.
This cat was seen in the forest by a local person. Initially he thought that it was a domestic kitten. But as she grew up, it became clear from her behavior that she was not a domestic cat.
Dr. Nogales-Ascarunz had also heard of sightings of other small wild cats in the dense forests of the Yungas region of Bolivia. But scientists did not investigate them.
To solve this mystery, he worked together with researchers from different countries of the world.
The team examined the DNA of live cats and specimens kept in museums. Through this, scientists tried to understand the mutual relationship between tiger cats and their old history.
"There are very few records and photographs of it. There are no specimens of this cat in any museum. It remained hidden because no one was looking for it," said Eduardo Iziric, a conservation geneticist at Brazil's Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul.
This study published in the journal Current Biology revealed some more surprising things.
This indicated that there may be not three, but five species of tiger cats. The new Tilakaya cat found in Bolivia i.e. Leopardus Tilakaya is also one of these.
Scientists are identifying threats to this species in the forest
However, identifying the new species is just the first step.
Now scientists have to understand in which areas this cat is found, what kind of environment it lives in and what dangers it faces in the forest.
Dr. Caroline Sarter of Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, who was associated with this research, said that this discovery is very important for saving wild animals.
He says that if scientists do not know what a species is and where it lives, then it is not possible to save it.
He said, "These animals are about the size of a domestic cat. So you might think that by now we would know about all of them. But this discovery shows how many species of plants and animals are still to be discovered in areas of the world where less research has been done."
Tiger cats are in danger of extinction due to deforestation, habitat loss and illegal hunting.
However, most of the assessments made so far regarding their threat have been based on species that were already recognized.
Until recently, only two species of tiger cats were officially recognized.
These included the Northern Tiger Cat or Oncilla i.e. Leopardus tigrinus and the Southern Tiger Cat i.e. Leopardus guttulus.
After this, Clouded Tiger Cat i.e. Leopardus pardinoides was also recognized as a separate species.
By learning more about each species, experts will be able to make better plans to conserve these cats and their habitat.
What might this discovery change?
The discovery could also change how scientists classify the world's cats.
All wild and domestic cats are part of the biological family Felidae. It includes all species of cats alive today, from small house cats to giant tigers.
Currently, 41 species of cats are officially recognized.
But after this new discovery and indications that there are many more species of tiger cats, this number may increase to 44 or 45.
It is believed that the number of cat species in the world may increase further.
Due to new tests related to DNA, more information is being obtained about small wild cats. Earlier, scientists had paid very little attention to small wild cats compared to larger and more attractive cats.
Cats are very difficult to recognize
Andrew Kitchener, an expert on mammals at the National Museums of Scotland, was not involved in this research.
He says that small spotted cats found in South America are known by different names like tiger cat, tigrina or oncilla. Their scientific classification has always been "extremely complicated".
He said, "These cats are difficult to identify because they are so similar in appearance. There are very few specimens of them even in museums. So even after DNA testing has revealed new species, we are still learning how to tell them apart from each other."
He said, "In recent years, it has become possible to solve this dilemma after the technology of whole genome testing was introduced and more samples were found from the forests. It is also known about these samples from where they were found."
"Of course, this is only the latest of many steps taken in this direction. More surprising information may emerge in the future."
