New paper suggests 3 oncilla species

[Swampy]

A paper published in Nature's Scientific Reports uses ecological niche modelling, biogeography and phenotypic analysis (although perhaps notably, no new genetic analysis) to define species boundaries in the oncilla, and suggests 3 subspecies;

Atlantic forest tiger cat Leopardus guttulus (well supported as distinct in recent years)

Savannah tiger cat, Leopardus tigrinus, and

Clouded tiger cat, Leopardus pardinoides, with subspecies L. p. pardinoides and L. p. oncilla

Full paper, including range maps and habitat descriptions, is open access here;
Ecological modeling, biogeography, and phenotypic analyses setting the tiger cats’ hyperdimensional niches reveal a new species | Scientific Reports

Not an unexpected conclusion, but good to see it published. The lack of new genetic analysis included is unexpected, however. Interesting how much smaller and less continuous this study finds the range of L. tigrinus to be as well; this taxon may be much more threatened than previously noted.

 

[Dr. Loxodonta]

A paper published in Nature's Scientific Reports uses ecological niche modelling, biogeography and phenotypic analysis (although perhaps notably, no new genetic analysis) to define species boundaries in the oncilla, and suggests 3 subspecies;

Atlantic forest tiger cat Leopardus guttulus (well supported as distinct in recent years)

Savannah tiger cat, Leopardus tigrinus, and

Clouded tiger cat, Leopardus pardinoides, with subspecies L. p. pardinoides and L. p. oncilla

Full paper, including range maps and habitat descriptions, is open access here;
Ecological modeling, biogeography, and phenotypic analyses setting the tiger cats’ hyperdimensional niches reveal a new species | Scientific Reports

Not an unexpected conclusion, but good to see it published. The lack of new genetic analysis included is unexpected, however. Interesting how much smaller and less continuous this study finds the range of L. tigrinus to be as well; this taxon may be much more threatened than previously noted.

Thank you for posting this @Swampy, I was partly aware of this due to “A Revised Taxonomy of the Felidae” by the Cat Specialist Group in 2017. On Page 54-56 it talks about the Oncilla/Tigrina as two separate species, Northern and Southern Tigrina and talks about L. pardinoides as a possible species and L. p. oncilla as needing a reassessment, possibly being another new species. This new information is very interesting but it’s a shame that this species could already be on the brink…

https://repository.si.edu/bitstream...e_Taxonomy_CatNews.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y