All new mammals are noteworthy, and we generally love cats, so a new cat is news is the way a new newt is not news, or at least not notable news. And we have a new cat.
Small wild cats have flourished in South América. The genus Leopardus groups eight species (most common popular names: ocelot, pampas cat, and margay) marked by a variety of colors and spot patterns and a predilection for cute little rounded ears. They're genetically distinct from other cats, with 36 chromosomes instead of the standard 38.
Best known of the Leopardus species, the ocelot L. pardalus). The species is about twice the size of a house cat. (Photo in public domain)
Now a presumed ocelot skin collected in Columbia in 1989 has proven to be something else. Manuel Ruiz-García spotted the striking reddish skin in the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute in 2001. He was immediately certain it was a new species, but species, especially of high-profile groups like wild cats, can't just be named because they look different. (In theory, the rules are universally applicable, but does anyone look hard when you publish on a new species of amoeba?) There are differing opinions about the number and distinctiveness of several Leopardus species to begin with, and Ruiz-Garcia had to be thorough. The episode thus illustrates the painstaking process involved and the dedication required of scientists seeking to establish a new species. It took him 22 years to accomplish the analysis needed to separate the new cat both morphologically and genetically and then publish his paper.
L: Ruiz-Garcia's designated holotype of the new species. R: comparison skin of the most visually similar cat, the tigrina or oncilla (L. tigrinus). (Fair use claimed for photo by Manual Ruiz-García - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/6/1266# https://www.javeriana.edu.co/pesquisa/gato-de-narino-nueva-especie-felino/)
While I know only the very basics of genetics, I think this text from the Abstract offers a useful idea of the complexity involved.
"Analysis of the complete mitochondrial genomes from 44 felid specimens (including 18 L. tigrinus and all the current known species of the genus Leopardus), the mtND5 gene from 84 felid specimens (including 30 L. tigrinus and all the species of the genus Leopardus), and six nuclear DNA microsatellites (113 felid specimens of all the current known species of the genus Leopardus) indicate that this specimen does not belong to any previously recognized Leopardus taxon."
So we have a new cat. At least, we hope we do. There is still just the one specimen. The cat is, at best, extremely rare. It is, at worst, extinct. Let us hope that adage about nine lives has some scientific significance this time.
Matt Bille is a writer, historian, and naturalist living in Colorado Springs. He can be reached at mattsciwriter@protonmail.com. Website: www.mattbilleauthor.com.
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