First new wild cat species discovered in more than 100 years

A new species of wild cat has been identified for the first time in more than a century.

It has been named 'Leopardus tilcayo' by scientists, and lives in the forests of Bolivia in South America.

Experts say it is around the size of a domestic cat, but its spotted and striped coat initially made it difficult to tell it apart from other wild cats in the area.

Now, researchers have used DNA tests to reveal that Leopardus tilcayo is actually a species of its own - and say there could be even more new species of wild cats waiting to be discovered.

The discovery came after Bolivian scientist Dr Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz began investigating a group of small wild cats known as tiger cats.

These animals are found across Central and South America, from Costa Rica to Bolivia and Argentina.

She was particularly interested in one cat, a 10-year-old called Tigrino.

The cat had originally been found in a forest by a local resident, who thought they had come across a domestic kitten.

But as it grew older, its behaviour showed that it was not a house cat.

Bolivian scientist Dr Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz noticed that Tigrino looked slightly unusual.

She had also heard of other sightings of small wild cats in the dense forests of the country's Yungas region, but these had not been investigated by scientists.

So, working together with a group of researchers, she decided to take a closer look.

The team decided to investigate the family history of tiger cats by studying their DNA.

The results showed that Tigrino was not simply another tiger cat that looked slightly different.

Its DNA showed that it belonged to a separate species.

The team also found evidence suggesting there could be five tiger cat species, rather than the three that had previously been recognised - with the newly identified Tilcaya cat being one of them.

Scientists say identifying the new Tilcaya cat is only the first step.

Only one confirmed member of the species is currently known - Tigrino - although researchers believe others exist.

Dr Caroline Sartor, from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at the University of Oxford, said the discovery was important for conservation because it is difficult to protect a species if scientists don't know what it is or where it lives.

"This discovery shows how much biodiversity is still to be uncovered in some of the less-studied regions of the world," she explained.

Tiger cats are considered vulnerable to extinction because of deforestation, habitat loss and illegal hunting.

The discovery could also change what scientists know about the wider cat family.

There are officially 41 recognised species, but the new findings could bring the total to 44 or more.

Scientists hope their findings will also draw more attention to tiger cats, which receive far less public attention than larger cats such as lions, leopards and tigers.