A spotted wildcat in Bolivia has been identified as a previously unrecognised species after being mistaken for one of its relatives.
The discovery establishes the animal as distinct from the related wildcats with which it had previously been grouped. The identification was made in Bolivia, although the supplied information does not give further details about the location or the process used to distinguish the species.
Only one living member of the newly identified species is currently known. That makes the discovery particularly significant for understanding the animal and assessing how widely the species may occur.
No further information is available in the supplied material about the wildcat’s population, habitat, conservation status or whether additional members of the species have been found. The latest known position is that the spotted animal is recognised as a new species, with just one living example currently known.
