Leopardus

Leopardus is a genus of small spotted cats that are native to Middle and South America. Very few species belonging to Leopardus are in the southern United States. Leopardus may be the oldest branch of the Felinae to go into the Americas, followed by the genera Lynx and Puma.

 Article (source): 

 New Species of Cat Has Been Found in the Andes 
By Esther Evangeline,  2025 July 3

Published in Animals Around The Globe

In a remarkable discovery that has captivated the scientific community, researchers have confirmed the identification of a previously unknown wild cat species in the remote highlands of the Andes Mountains. This groundbreaking finding represents the first new cat species identified in the Americas in over 80 years. The newly classified feline, provisionally named the “Andean mountain cat” (scientific name: Leopardus andinus), was documented after years of local reports, camera trap evidence, and finally genetic confirmation that established it as distinct from other known South American wild cats.

 Species 
 Leopardus colocolo (Molina, 1782) – Colocolo
 Leopardus braccatus (Cope, 1889) – Pantanal Cat
 Leopardus pajeros (Desmarest, 1816) – Pampas Cat
 Leopardus geoffroyi (d'Orbigny & Gervais, 1844) – Geoffroy's cat
 Leopardus guigna (Molina, 1782) – Kodkod
 Leopardus jacobitus (Cornalia, 1865) – Andean Mountain cat
 Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758) – Ocelot
 Leopardus tigrinus (Schreber, 1775) – Oncilla
 Leopardus wiedii (Schinz, 1821) – Margay

Category:Felines