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.

Leopardus
File:Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)-8.jpg
Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Subfamily:	Felinae
Genus:	Leopardus Gray, 1842
Species
See text
File:Leopardus range.png
Leopardus diversity

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

Leopardus Media

• Distribution of Ocelot

• Leopardus tigrinus - Parc des Félins

• Distribution of Oncilla

• Leopardus pajeros 20101006

• Distribution of Pampas Cat

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  Leopardus guigna in Anticura (Parque Nacional Puyehue, X Region, Chile)

• Distribution of Guigna

• Margay.jpg

  Un Margay photographié au Parc des Félins de Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux, France

• Margay distribution.jpg

  Distribution of Margay