Amazingly, the Borneo clouded leopard is as genetically different from the mainland variety as lions are to tigers.

Credit: WWF-Canon / Alain Compost

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JAKARTA: A type of clouded leopard found in the rainforests of Indonesia's islands of Borneo and Sumatra is a new species of big cat, according to the conservation group WWF.

The cat, covered in small cloud-like markings containing many spots, was thought to be the same species as a mainland Southeast Asian leopard, but tests have shown otherwise.

"Genetic research results clearly indicate that the clouded leopards of Borneo should be considered a separate species," said Stephen O'Brien of the U.S. National Cancer Institute's (NCI) laboratory for genomic diversity in Bethesda, Maryland.

The difference between the cats was as great as the difference between lions, tigers and jaguars, the researchers said. They believe the two species diverged as much as 1.4 million years ago.

"The moment we started comparing the skins of the mainland clouded leopard and the leopard found on Borneo, it was clear we were comparing two different species," said Andrew Kitchener, a scientist from National Museums Scotland, in Edinburgh. "It's incredible no one has ever noticed these differences."

The mainland leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) had larger 'clouds' with fewer spots and lacks the Borneo species' greyer fur and double dorsal stripe. See a video of the Borneo clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) here on WWF's web site.

The cat is Borneo's top predator and feeds on monkeys, deer and pigs, though it sometimes eats birds and monitor lizards.

Some 5,000 to 11,000 cats from the newly described species are thought to live on Borneo, while the number on Sumatra is estimated to be 3,000 to 7,000.

"Who said a leopard can never change its spots?" said senior WWF International official Stuart Chapman."For over a hundred years we have been looking at this animal and never realised it was unique."

The conservation body said the clouded leopard's last great forest home was the "Heart of Borneo," a mountainous region of 220,000 km² - about five times the size of Switzerland - in the island's centre.

The main threat to the newly defined species stems from the destruction of its habitat, with Borneo's rainforests under threat from unsustainable logging, forest fires and conversion to plantations, the group said.

Since 1996, deforestation across Indonesia has increased to an average of 20,000 km² a year.

The forests are home to 13 primate species - including endangered orangutans - more than 350 bird species, 150 reptiles and amphibians and about 15,000 species of plants.

Scientists continue to make discoveries in the forests - more than 50 species were found last year alone.

More information:

More on the clouded leopard, Arkive