Science has made leaps and bounds in the field of biology over the course of human history, and yet there is still so much to be discovered. An entirely new wild cat species was just recently found in Brazil, amidst the currently known varieties. This new kind of feline was discovered while scientists were studying the DNA of several cat populations. It was found that there was a new wild cat species existing within the more known Neotropical cats.
While analyzing DNA from the pampas cat, Geoffroy's cat and the tigrina, Brazilian scientists noted a pattern of interbreeding among the feline populations. It seemed that north eastern tigrinas were interbreeding with pampas cats while southern tigrinas were mating with Geoffroy's cats. Be that as it may, the researchers were puzzled to find that the north eastern and southern tigrinas did not interbreed with each other. This led the scientist to conclude that L. tigrinus were actually subdivided into two distinct populations.
They had so many differences on the genetic level that they were as distinct as the pampas and the Geoffroy's cats. This discovery ended with Brazilian scientists proclaiming the two populations as their own species. The north eastern tigrinas kept their name, L. tigrinus, while their southern cousins were renamed L. guttulus.
Now, researchers are giving emphasis on the need for further study on the new wild cat species. Though L. tigrinus kept their name, their biologies seem to be a virtual mystery to the rest of the world. Thus, greater effort is needed to ensure that this new wild cat species is preserved and observed. There is still so much that is not known about the planet's animal kingdom. It is the hope of scientists that new discoveries would pave the way to better care and more attention to the environment.
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