Pantanal Cat

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The **Pantanal cat** (*Leopardus braccatus*) is a small cat native to tropical South America. It is named after the Pantanal wetlands in central South America, but mainly inhabits grassland, shrubland, savannas and deciduous forests. It has traditionally been treated as a subspecies of the larger colocolo, but was split primarily based on differences in pelage colour/pattern and cranial measurements. This split is not supported by genetic work.

It is considered a subspecies of *L. colocolo* by IUCN assessors. Others regard it as "likely [a] distinct species". The validity of the genetic work has been questioned.

## Description

Pantanal cats are small felines, roughly the size of a domestic cat. They have yellowish or brown fur with dark brown spots on the flanks, a whitish throat, two dark lines on each cheek, black stripes on the legs and chest, and black feet and tail-tip. The ears are large and pointed, with dark grey to black fur, and sometimes a pale marking on the posterior surface. There is a single report of a wild melanistic individual from Brazil, although this coat pattern has also been observed in some captive specimens.

Two subspecies can be identified on the basis of their coat pattern. *L. b. braccatus* is almost entirely rusty-brown with faint spots, continuous bands and a prominent black tip on the tail, and all-black feet. *L. b. munoai* is paler and more yellowish, has flank spots that are browner and more distinct, feet that are only black on the soles, and discontinuous rings and a narrow black tip on the tail.

The fur is generally longer on Pantanal cats than on other closely related species, although the crest of longer hair running down the back is less distinct. The claws are retractile and sharply curved.

## Distribution and habitat

Pantanal cats are found from sea level to Template:Convert in east-central Brazil, Uruguay, and neighbouring regions of central South America (Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina). Within this region, they inhabit a range of habitats from open grassland to dense forest, although they are specifically named for the Pantanal wetlands of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. It has also been reported from agricultural land, and therefore must have some limited tolerance for human disturbance.

When recognized as a species separate from the colocolo, there are two subspecies of the Pantanal cat:

* *Leopardus braccatus braccatus* (Cope, 1889) – central Brazil, eastern Paraguay, extreme eastern Bolivia, and parts of north-eastern Argentina.
* *Leopardus braccatus munoai* (Ximenez, 1961) – Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and Uruguay.

## Behaviour and diet

Pantanal cats are diurnal and solitary, inhabiting home ranges of Template:Convert. They are carnivorous, feeding on small mammals, such as cavies, ground-dwelling birds, small lizards, and snakes. In most respects, they are believed to be similar in behaviour and biology to the colocolo. Hybrids between the Pantanal cat and oncilla are known from Brazil.

## External links

* Species portrait *Leopardus colocolo*; IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group (L. braccatus and L. pajeros are not treated as separate species)

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1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Garcia-Perea, R. (1994). *The pampas cat group (Genus Lynchailurus Severertzov 1858) (Carnivora: Felidae), A systematic and biogeographic review.* American Museum Novitates 3096: 1-35.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Template:Cite journal
3. ↑ Macdonald, D. & Loveridge, A., eds. (2010). *The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids.* Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923445-5
4. ↑ Template:IUCN
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Sunquist, M. E. & Sunquist, F. C. (2009). Colocolo (*Leopardus colocolo*). Pp. 146 in: Wilson, D. E., & Mittermeier, R. A. eds. (2009). *Handbook of the Mammals of the World.* Vol. 1. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Template:Cite journal
7. ↑ Díaz Luque, J. A., Beraud, V., Torres, P. J., Kacoliris, F. P., Daniele, G., Wallace, R. B., and Berkunsky, I. (2012). First record of pantanal cat, *Leopardus colocolo braccatus*, in Bolivia. Mastozoología neotropical 19(2): 299–301.
8. ↑ Template:Cite journal
9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `MSW3`