Tilcayo
Leopardus tilcayo Nogales-Ascarrunz, Aliaga-Rossel, Lescroart & Eizirik in Lescroart et al., 2026
Status not recordedmammals
The tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo) is a mammal in the family Felidae, subfamily Felinae, within the order Carnivora and suborder Feliformia. Adults weigh from 1.5 to 2 kg, with a representative body mass of 1.75 kg, which places the species in the medium size class (adult body mass 1 to 25 kg).
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Quick facts about the tilcayo
The Catalogue of Life lists the tilcayo as a living, not extinct species.
- Weight
- 1.5 kg – 2 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the tilcayo
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the tilcayo live?
Not recorded
What is the tilcayo?
The tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo; til-KYE-oh; Spanish pronunciation: [tilˈkaʝo] ), or tilcayo tiger cat, is a species of small wild cat in the genus Leopardus native to Bolivia. Identified through a genetic study of tiger cats published in September 2026, the tilcayo is the first extant cat species formally described since 1923. The tilcayo was already known to local communities under that name. Its appearance is similar to that of other tiger cat species such as the oncilla, and its status as a genetically distinct population was not documented by zoologists until the 2026 study.
From the Wikipedia article “Tilcayo” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tilcayo&oldid=1384069380), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the tilcayo sound like?
Is the tilcayo endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the tilcayo classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyFelidae
- genusLeopardus
- SpeciesLeopardus tilcayo Nogales-Ascarrunz, Aliaga-Rossel, Lescroart & Eizirik in Lescroart et al., 2026
Other names and names in other languages (3)
- تيلكايوArabic
- Gato-TilcayoPortuguese
- Gato-tigre-tilcayoPortuguese
Relatives of the tilcayo
Other species in the same genus Leopardus.
Ocelot
Leopardus pardalis
Oncilla
Leopardus tigrinus
Margay
Leopardus wiedii
Kodkod
Leopardus guigna
Geoffroy's cat
Leopardus geoffroyi
Pampas cat
Leopardus colocola
CompareTilcayo vs OcelotTilcayo vs OncillaTilcayo vs MargayTilcayo vs Kodkod
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the tilcayo?
The tilcayo is a mammal in the family Felidae, order Carnivora. It belongs to the subfamily Felinae and the genus Leopardus.
What is the scientific name of the tilcayo?
The scientific name of the tilcayo is Leopardus tilcayo.
How much does a tilcayo weigh?
An adult Tilcayo weighs from 1.5 to 2 kg, with a representative body mass of 1.75 kg.
How big is the tilcayo?
The tilcayo falls in the medium size class, defined by an adult body mass of 1 to 25 kg.
Is the tilcayo extinct?
No, the Catalogue of Life lists the tilcayo as living, not extinct.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tilcayo
“Tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/tilcayo.
@misc{tilcayo_2026,
title = {Tilcayo (Leopardus tilcayo)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/tilcayo},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}