Taxonomic revision of the oncillas Leopardus tigrinus (Schreber, 1775) (Carnivora, Felidae)

The oncilla Leopardus tigrinus (Schreber, 1775) is a small-sized Neotropical spotted cat found from northern Argentina and southern Brazil to Costa Rica. Four subspecies are traditionally recognized: L. t. tigrinus (Schreber, 1775) from northern Brazil, the Guianas and eastern Venezuela; L. t. pardinoides (Gray, 1867) from western Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru; L. t. guttulus (Hensel, 1872) from southern Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina; and L. t. oncillus (Thomas, 1903) from Costa Rica. We studied external and craniodental morphology in quantitative and qualitative terms from 246 specimens in order to clarify the taxonomic status of oncilla. Based on the characters analyzed in this study, we recognize three diagnosable morphogroups, each with a distinct geographic distribution: northern/northwestern (samples from northern Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Costa Rica), eastern (samples from northeastern and central Brazil), and southern (samples from southern Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina). Taking into account the morphologic evidence presented here, supported by biogeographic data and molecular studies available, we recognize three full species for oncillas: L. tigrinus (including the putative subspecies L. t. pardinoides and L. t. oncillus) for northern/northwestern group; L. emiliae (Thomas, 1914) for eastern group; and L. guttulus for southern group.