Researchers announced on Sept. 17 local time that they had confirmed a new felid in the Yungas rainforest of Bolivia and given it the scientific name Leopardus tilcayo. Locally the animal has been known as the tilcayo.

It measures about 46 centimeters in length and weighs roughly 1.4 kilograms, slightly smaller than a house cat. Its coat is light brown with irregular spotting across the body of the kind seen on leopards.

The confirmation began by chance. About a decade ago a kitten found near the Yungas forest was taken in by a resident who believed it was a domestic cat. It vocalized differently from ordinary cats and went after chickens, and after about a year it was transferred to a protection facility.

Why it took a century

Confirming a new felid is rare even among larger mammals. Form alone struggles to separate a new species from variation within known ones, so genetic analysis and specimen comparison are required. Small South American cats, with overlapping ranges and wide variation in coat patterns, are known as a particularly difficult group to classify.

The researchers emphasized conservation. That only two individuals are known implies either a very small population or a range that has not been surveyed. The Yungas is undergoing habitat change from farmland expansion and road building.

The value of a record

Confirming a species is not simply adding a name to a list. Once confirmed, it becomes eligible for assessment under international conservation criteria, and habitat surveys and protected-area discussions follow. An animal without a name cannot enter a protection list at all.

This paper reports such news as record rather than novelty. Losses in biodiversity appear first in statistics, and the point this announcement leaves is that unconfirmed species do not appear in statistics either.