Leopardus braccatus (Carnivora: Felidae)

Barstow, Anita L.; Leslie, David M.

CONTEXT AND CONTENT. Context as for genus. Taxonomy of South American small felids has been in flux for at least the past several decades. They have been classified under various genera (e.g., Felis, Leopardus, Lynehailurus, and Oneifelis) and have been split into separate species (e.g., Garcia-Perea 1994; Wozencraft 2005) , often monotypically, or lumped with various combinations of subspecies (e.g., Sunquist 2002, 2009 ). Relatively recent molecular evidence (Cossios et al. 2007 (Cossios et al. , 2009 Johnson et al. 1996 Johnson et al. , 2006 Johnson and O'Brien 1997; Masuda et al. 1996; Mattern and McLennan 2000; O'Brien and Johnson 2007; O'Brien and Yuhki 1999; Pecon-Slattery and O'Brien 1998) suggests a phylogeny favoring various subspecific designations, in contrast to systematic conclusions based on just morphological characteristics that suggest unique species (Garcia-Perea 1994) . Using morphological characteristics, Garcia-Perea (1994) assessed the taxonomy of some South American small felids, formerly grouped under Felis eoloeolo, with 86 specimens from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay, consisting of 72 study skins and 51 skulls, from 8 North American, South American, and European collections. She grouped them under Lynehailurus into 3 species: braeeatus (with the 2 subspecies above; Fig. 1 ), pajeros (7 subspecies), and eoloeolo (2 subspecies).