The newest cat species described to science, the Sunda clouded leopard, actually exists in two distinct forms, scientists have confirmed.
This big cat is so enigmatic that researchers only realised it was a new species - distinct from clouded leopards living elsewhere in Asia - in 2007. The first footage of the cat in the wild to made public was only released last year.
Now a genetic analysis has confirmed that the cat comes in two forms, one living in Sumatra, the other on Borneo.
Clouded leopards are the most elusive of all the big cats, which include lions, tigers, jaguars, snow leopards and normal spotted leopards.
Living across south-east Asia, into China and India, the leopards have larger cloud-like spots than ordinary leopards.
Until 2006, all clouded leopards were thought to belong to a single species.
However, genetic studies revealed that there are actually two quite distinct clouded leopard species.
As well as the better known clouded leopard living on the Asian mainland (Neofelis nebulosa), scientists determined that a separate clouded leopard species lives on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
The two species are thought to have diverged over one million years ago.
Rest of article & video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9369000/9369238.stm
