Research overview: Geoffroys cat distribution in southern South America

Geoffroys cat is a small, adaptable felid of southern South America, ranging across Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southern Brazil. This overview compiles records describing its occurrence in a variety of open and semi-open habitats, including Patagonian steppe, the Pampas grasslands, scrub, and open woodland, often near water and cover. The species is one of the more common small cats in parts of its range and tolerates some agricultural landscapes. Mapping its distribution is comparatively well supported by camera-trap and telemetry studies. Understanding the distribution matters because Geoffroys cat serves as a relatively well-studied model among Neotropical small cats and because its abundance in the southern cone makes it ecologically important in those grassland and scrub ecosystems.