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Pampas cat

The Pampas cat (Leopardus colocola) is a small wild cat native to South America. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List as habitat conversion and destruction may cause the population to decline in the future.

It is named after the Pampas, but occurs in grassland, shrubland, and dry forest at elevations up to 5,000 m (16,000 ft).

There was a proposal to divide the Pampas cat into three distinct species, based primarily on differences in pelage colour/pattern and cranial measurements. Accordingly, three species were recognised in the 2005 edition of Mammal Species of the World: the colocolo (L. colocolo), the Pantanal cat (L. braccatus), and the Pampas cat (L. pajeros) with a more restricted definition. This split at species level was not supported by subsequent phylogeographic analysis, although some geographical substructure was recognised, and some authorities continue to recognise the Pampas cat as a single species. In the 2017 revision of felid taxonomy by the Cat Specialist Group, the Pampas cat is recognized as a single species with seven subspecies. An analysis of 142 skins collected across South America revealed morphological differences between these museum specimens. It was therefore proposed to recognize five distinct species within the Pampas cat complex.

The Pampas cat is a little bigger than a domestic cat and has a bushier tail. Its size varies between regions, ranging in body length from 46 to 75 cm (18 to 30 in) with a 23–29 cm (9.1–11.4 in) long tail. Six variants of its pelage occur, but all have two dark lines on the cheeks:

The subtypes of Type 2 show variation according to altitude and latitude. Only the first subtype occurs in the north (around 20°S and northwards), and only the third type occurs in the far south (around 40°S and southwards). In between, the majority are of second subtype, but the first subtype has been recorded as far south as 29°S, and the third subtype as far north as 36°S. At latitudes where both the first and second subtypes occur, the former tends to live in highlands and the latter in lowlands.

A melanistic phenotype is caused by the addition of a single cysteine residue at position 120 of Agouti-signaling protein. This disrupts the four disulphide bonds in the normal protein, altering its tertiary structure and reducing its ability to bind to the melanocortin 1 receptor.

Felis colocola was the scientific name proposed by Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782 for a cat from Chile.

An extensive morphological analysis of Pampas cat specimens from across the species's range revealed differences in cranial measurements, and pelage colour and pattern. Therefore, the Pampas cat group was divided into three distinct species with 11 subspecies. This species division was recognised in the 2005 edition of Mammal Species of the World, although the number of subspecies was reduced:

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