New Pampas cat Leopardus colocolo (Molina, 1782) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) records for the Chaco ecoregion raise questions on the distribution and population status of this felid in Argentina

Ana Sofía Nanni,Griet An Erica Cuyckens,Mauro Lucherini,Lucila Castro,Fernando R Barri,Anthony J Giordano

doi:10.15560/16.3.729

Ana Sofía Nanni, Griet An Erica Cuyckens + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.15560/16.3.729

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Abstract

The Pampas cat is a poorly-known small felid distributed throughout a large portion of South America, reported as extinct in the Pampas of Argentina, and absent from a large portion of the Argentine Dry Chaco. Here, we compile data from the field and collections to report new presence records of the Pampas cat from the Dry Chaco of Argentina, which update to the distribution of this felid in the region. We discuss the need of further assessments for the species distribution in the light of ongoing land-use changes in the area.

Highlights

The current conservation status of many of the world’s mammals is precarious, mostly due to threats such as over-exploitation and habitat loss
Leopardus colocola (Molina, 1782) is a poorly known small felid distributed throughout a large portion of South America, reported as extinct in the Pampas of Argentina, and absent from a large portion of the Argentine Dry Chaco
The Pampas Cat, Leopardus colocola (Molina, 1782), popularly named after a grassland biome that occurs in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, is a poorly known, small felid distributed throughout a large portion of South America

Summary

Introduction

The current conservation status of many of the world’s mammals is precarious, mostly due to threats such as over-exploitation and habitat loss. Its range includes the Andean mountain chain from Argentina and Chile through Peru, Ecuador, and possibly marginally into southwestern Colombia; the Patagonia, Monte, Espinal, Yungas, and Mesopotamia regions in Argentina; the Pampas and Pantanal in Brazil; and the dry forests of Bolivia (Silveira 1995; Nowell and Jackson 1996; Dotta et al 2007; Ruiz-Garcia et al 2013; Lucherini et al 2016) It is considered extinct in the Pampas of central Argentina (Pereira et al 2002), and some unpublished data recorded this species in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes of Paraguay (Giordano et al unpublished data)

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