Pantanal Cat

The Pantanal cat is a small cat with brown, agouti-like fur on the back, a slightly darker spinal crest and two dark transverse lines across each cheek. Its ears are reddish at the base, creamy-white on the outside and edged with a black band, and its throat is whitish, shading to orange on the sides and belly. It has dark brown rosettes on the flanks, stripes on the legs between elbow and wrist, and a black tail tip and paws (Wikipedia, general species account). A single wild melanistic individual has been reported, from Brazil (Wikipedia, general species account).

The Pantanal cat is diurnal and solitary, and it feeds on small mammals such as cavies, ground-dwelling birds, small lizards and snakes. Its home range is reported at 3 to 37 km2 (Wikipedia, general species account). Its taxonomy has been disputed. It was once treated as a subspecies of the pampas cat, Leopardus colocola braccatus. A 1994 proposal for full species status was not supported by phylogeographic analysis, and the genetic work was later questioned. In 2020 it was recognised as a full species on morphological, molecular, geographical and ecological grounds (Wikipedia, general species account). Hybrids with the oncilla are known from Brazil (Wikipedia, general species account).

Bolivia is among the countries of the species' range, and the name Pantanal refers to the wetlands of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, where it lives in grassland, shrubland, savanna and forest (Wikipedia, general species account).