Yet another Hacker News

The first new cat species discovered in 100 years

41 points ohjeez 1 day ago 10 comments

https://archive.ph/cgMTM

autoexec 1 day ago | parent

It's Leopardus tilcayo aka 'tilcayo tiger cat' and it's very cute. Wikipedia doesn't have a page dedicated to it yet.

Bonus pics: https://www.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SEI_...

https://media.zenfs.com/en/live_science_953/73a4cafd69e9e863...

https://media.zenfs.com/en/live_science_953/1fea354ba7a8db69...

https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/get/maximage/20260917_17896627...

cromka 20 hours ago | parent

Looks like a house cat, I am betting it's a matter of months before someone starts selling the crossbreds, like they do with Bengal.

Also, they're only 3-4 lbs!

ghaff 20 minutes ago | parent

All the wildcats (which basically include domestic cats) are very closely related based on my understanding. Even the whole box thing is related to a lot of wildcats having a liking for caves.

xoxxala 5 minutes ago | parent

> Wikipedia doesn't have a page dedicated to it yet.

Someone has been typing quickly...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilcayo_tiger_cat

ChrisArchitect 18 hours ago | parent

https://archive.ph/cgMTM

krige 12 hours ago | parent

Positively tiny. Really makes you wonder what else is still out there.

Also an amusing disjoint between it being called "tiger" cat but having leopard spots. At least the latin name is more on point.

coalbin 6 hours ago | parent

Since this cat is Bolivian, they would be jaguar spots, rather than leopard ones.

The conquistadors referred to the jaguars as "tigers" - they certainly aren't lions - and that custom stuck around for long enough for this to become a tiger cat!

bebeirjd848r 19 minutes ago | parent

What is the big deal? We discover new species of dog every few months (it is not a "pitbull", but american mini fox bully!)

The same with cats. They can cross breed and only differ in color and spots on fur!

JohnMakin 18 minutes ago | parent

I think you’re confusing species with genetic variation within a species.

hmokiguess 11 minutes ago | parent

Awwwww pspspspsps kitty kitty ^_^