Research overview: pelage differences between clouded leopard species

Coat pattern played a central role in confirming the clouded leopard split. This overview describes the diagnostic pelage differences: Sunda clouded leopards tend to have smaller, darker cloud markings with more spots inside them, a double dorsal stripe, and an overall darker, greyer ground color, while mainland clouded leopards show larger, lighter cloud blotches. It explains how these consistent differences, documented across museum specimens, provided the morphological half of the integrative case for two species. The piece notes that, unlike many felids where coat traits are unreliable, here pelage differences were concordant with deep genetic divergence, making them genuinely diagnostic. It is a useful counterpoint to cases like leopard melanism, showing when coat characters do and do not carry taxonomic signal.