page_title: Pampas cat
section_title: Taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Pampas cat / Taxonomy
caption_attribution_description: Occipital and lateral views of two Pampas cat subspecies' skulls
context_page_description: The Pampas cat is a small wild cat native to South America. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as habitat conversion and destruction may cause the population to decline in the future.
  It is also known as Pantanal cat and colocolo in parts of its range. It is named after the Pampas, but occurs in grassland, shrubland, and dry forest at elevations up to 5,000 m.
  There was a proposal to divide Pampas cat into three distinct species, based primarily on differences in pelage colour/pattern and cranial measurements. Accordingly, three species were recognised in the 2005 edition of Mammal Species of the World: the colocolo, the Pantanal cat, and the Pampas cat with a more restricted definition. This split at species level was not supported by subsequent phylogeographic analysis, although some geographical substructure was recognised, and some authorities continue to recognise the Pampas cat as a single species. In the 2017 revision of felid taxonomy by the Cat Specialist Group, the Pampas cat is recognized as a single species with seven subspecies. A further study released in 2020, found strong evidence for five distinct species within the Pampas cat complex.
context_section_description: Felis colocola was the scientific name proposed by Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782 for a cat from Chile.
  An extensive morphological analysis of Pampas cat specimens from across the species's range revealed differences in cranial measurements, and pelage colour and pattern. Therefore, the Pampas cat group was divided into three distinct species with 11 subspecies. This species division was recognised in the 2005 edition of Mammal Species of the World, although the number of subspecies was reduced: 
  Leopardus colocola (colocolo)
  L. c. colocola – subtropical forests of central Chile
  L. c. wolffsohni (Garcia-Perea, 1994) – in spiny shrublands and páramo of northern Chile
  Leopardus braccatus (Pantanal cat)
  L. b. braccatus (Cope, 1889) – central Brazil, eastern Paraguay, extreme eastern Bolivia, and parts of north-eastern Argentina.
  L. b. munoai (Ximenez, 1961) – Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and Uruguay.
  Leopardus pajeros (Pampas cat, with a more restricted definition)
  L. p. pajeros (Desmarest, 1816), the Nominate subspecies – southern Chile and widely in Argentina
  L. p. crespoi – eastern slope of the Andes in northwestern Argentina
  L. p. garleppi (Matschie, 1912) – Andes in Peru
  L. p. steinbachi – Andes in Bolivia
  L. p. thomasi – Andes in Ecuador
  Based on just two specimens, the subspecies L. p. steinbachi is larger and paler than L. p. garleppi. However, this is labelled with uncertainty due to the very small sample, and some treat it as a synonym of L. p. garleppi. Uncertainty also exists for the subspecies L. p. budini, which appears to resemble L. p. crespoi, and was described from lowlands of northwestern Argentina, but may actually be from humid forests in the region. Some recognise it, while others do not. Populations in southern Chile and the southern part of Argentina, included in the nominate in the above list, were recognised as the subspecies L. p. crucinus based on its dull pelage and large size.
  More recent work, primarily genetic studies, failed to find support for a split at species level, although some geographical substructure was recognized. Several authors recognise the Pampas cat as a single species. Since 2017, the Cat Classification Taskforce of the Cat Specialist Group recognises the Pampas cat as a single species with seven subspecies:
  L. c. colocola
  L. c. pajeros
  L. c. braccatus
  L. c. garleppi
  L. c. budini (Pocock, 1941)
  L. c. munoai
  L. c. wolffsohni
  Authors of a study published in May 2020 found significant morphological, molecular, geographic, and ecological differences between various Pampas cat populations across South America. They propose five species within the Pampas cat species complex, namely L. colocola, L. braccatus, L. garleppi, L. munoai and L. pajeros. They consider all five species to be monotypic.
caption: Skulls
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