The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is a medium-sized wild cat that was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The association of the ocelot with humans dates back to the Aztec and Incan civilizations; it has occasionally been kept as a pet.
The margay (Leopardus wiedii) is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wildlife trade, which resulted in a large population decrease.
The Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita) is a small wild cat native to the high Andes. It is regarded as one of the world’s most endangered wild cats and perhaps South America’s rarest felid, yet, as far as cat species go, it is amongst the...
The kodkod (Leopardus guigna ) (Spanish pronunciation: ), also called güiña, is the smallest felid species native to the Americas. It lives primarily in central and southern Chile, as well as marginally in adjoining areas of Argentina. Its area of...
The oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus ), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the population is...
The Pampas cat (Leopardus colocola) is a small wild cat native to South America. It is named after the Pampas, fertile South American low grasslands. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as the loss of its native habitat may cause...
Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi ) is a small wild cat native to the southern and central regions of South America. It is about the size of a domestic cat. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because it is widespread and abundant...
The Southern tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus) is a small wild cat species native to South America. It was long considered to be a subspecies of the oncilla and was recognized as a distinct species in 2013. The Southern tiger cat is in fact closely...
The Pantanal cat (Leopardus colocola braccatus) is a Pampas cat subspecies, a small wild cat native to South America. It is named after the Pantanal wetlands in central South America
Leopardus vorohuensis is an extinct species of feline. Fossils of the species were found in the Vorohué Formation of Argentina and dated to the Uquian age of the early middle Pleistocene. It is the earliest known cat of the ocelot lineage of...
