🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

This comprehensive revision, produced by the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, synthesized morphological, molecular, and biogeographic evidence to propose a consistent, e…

Kitchener AC, Breitenmoser-Wursten C, Eizirik E, Gentry A, Werdelin L, Wilting A, et al. · Cat News Special Issue · 2017

This study used genetic data to investigate the small spotted cats of South America and uncovered a cryptic species hidden within what was called the oncilla or tigrina. The authors found that northea…

Trigo TC, Schneider A, de Oliveira TG, et al. · Current Biology · 2013

Genetic tools have become central to small-cat conservation, and this overview reviews their applications. Non-invasive sampling of scats and hair allows researchers to confirm the presence of cryptic…

The small spotted cats of the ocelot lineage in South America, including the ocelot, margay, oncilla or tigrina, and pampas cat, present a tangle of cryptic species, hybrid zones, and unresolved bound…

The small spotted cats of South and Central America, including the margay and the oncilla or little spotted cat, harbor cryptic genetic diversity that has reshaped their taxonomy. This overview survey…

Genetic research has revealed that the oncilla comprises more than one species, and this overview reviews this taxonomic complexity. Molecular studies showed that populations long treated as a single…

An overview of how co-occurring small felids divide prey to coexist, a less-studied counterpart to big-cat guild ecology. Where species such as ocelots, margays, oncillas, jungle cats, leopard cats an…

For much of the twentieth century, cat classification rested on coat patterns, skull morphology, and geography, producing many poorly supported species and subspecies. This overview surveys how molecu…

Geoffroys cat hybridizes naturally with the southern oncilla in zones where their ranges overlap, and this overview reviews the genetic evidence and its implications. Molecular studies have detected g…

This overview examines how the jaguarundi coexists with the several other small cats that share its range, drawing on community ecology studies. Through its diurnal activity, terrestrial habits, prefe…

Unlike most small cats, the jaguarundi is notably diurnal, and this overview reviews this distinctive trait. Camera-trap and observational studies record peak activity during daylight, often mid-morni…

This overview examines the diet and activity of the oncilla, drawn from limited field and scat studies. The species is a hunter of small vertebrates, including small rodents, birds, and reptiles, with…

The oncilla, also called the tigrina or little spotted cat, is a small spotted felid distributed in a fragmented fashion from Central America through the Andes and into Brazil and beyond. This overvie…

Hybridization between the southern oncilla and Geoffroys cat, documented through genetic studies, is a notable feature of the oncilla evolutionary history, and this overview reviews it. In contact zon…

In parts of its range the oncilla occupies high-elevation habitats, including montane cloud forest and paramo-like grasslands, and this overview reviews this aspect of its ecology. Records from the An…

Agroforestry systems such as shade coffee and cacao, along with tree plantations and pasture-forest mosaics, can provide partial habitat for ocelots, margays, oncillas and jaguarundis across Latin Ame…

The ocelot lineage comprises the small spotted cats of the Americas, nearly all placed in the genus Leopardus, and represents a relatively recent and rapid radiation. This overview surveys the group,…

Few felid groups have generated as much naming confusion as the small spotted tiger cats of South America, variously called oncilla, tigrina, or tiger cat. This overview traces the tangled taxonomy, f…

This synthesis reviews the conservation standing of the oncilla, generally regarded as facing elevated risk owing to its apparent rarity, fragmented distribution, and the threats bearing on its varied…