A new species of wild cat has been identified in South America through research into Oncilla populations and breeding habits. Oncillas are small wild cats, approximately the size of a house cat, and known colloquially as ìlittle tiger catsî.
The research, led by Dr Eduardo Eizirik of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, aimed to analyse the genetics of different species of the wild cats in Brazil, of which there are at least seven. Data collected was from ëpampas catsí in the north, ëGeoffreyís catsí in the south, and two different populations of ëtigrinaí ñ north eastern and southern.
The team used molecular markers to examine the history of each species, allowing them to track the evolutionary progress of each different variety of wild cat. Through this, it was possible to compare DNA marker sequences to track evolutionary points at which interbreeding or hybridisation have occurred. While it was revealed that the southern ëtigrinaí were interbreeding with ëGeoffreyís catsí when contact occurred, no such evidence was found that the north eastern ëtigrinaí and the ëpampas catí. The most surprising observation, however, was the lack of evidence that breeding occurred between the north eastern and the southern strains of ëtigrinaí.
ìThis observation implies that these tigrina populations are not interbreeding, which led us to recognise them as distinct species,î said Dr Eizirik.
Dr Eizirik has also stressed that this discovery highlights the urgent need for reassessment of Brazilís conservational status. While this discovery is more accurately a case of mistaken identity, it is still a reminder of how little of the natural world we are truly aware of.
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