India, Sept. 18 -- A tiny wild cat found in Bolivia's cloud-covered Yungas forests has turned out to be something scientists have not formally identified in more than a century: a completely new species of feline. Named Leopardus tilcayo, the cat is known locally as tilcayo and belongs to the tiger cat group found across South America. It marks the first formal description of a completely new living feline species in more than 100 years, making the little cat from Bolivia a significant addition to the world's known cat family.

At around 46cm long and weighing just 1.4kg, the animal is even smaller than an average domestic cat. But its size was not the only thing that caught researchers' attention. With its leopard-like spots, short round...