A systematic and biogeographic revision of the pampas cat group

This monographic revision examined the pampas cats of South America, a group then placed in the genus Lynchailurus, and analyzed their morphological variation and biogeography. The author documented striking differences in coat color and pattern across the Andes and lowlands and proposed recognizing multiple species within what had often been treated as one. The work framed the pampas cat as a complex of differentiated forms rather than a single uniform species, setting the stage for decades of debate over how many species it contains. It is a foundational morphological study for Neotropical felid taxonomy and is frequently cited in subsequent molecular and integrative analyses of the Leopardus colocola complex. The revision exemplifies detailed museum-based systematics applied to a poorly known group of small South American cats.