Distribution and diet of Central American Clouded Tiger Cat Leopardus pardinoides oncilla via noninvasive genetics

The Clouded Tiger Cat Leopardus pardinoides is a recently recognized Neotropical species for which ecological and natural history data are sparse. Knowledge of species distribution and elevational range are largely based upon camera trap studies, and its diet has not been examined. The objective of this study was to better define the geographical and elevational distribution of the subspecies L. pardinoides oncilla in Central America using genetically confirmed records. We also provide the first diet analysis for L. pardinoides. We conducted extensive surveys for scat samples by visual means and with a scent detection dog across mountain ranges in Panama and Costa Rica, confirmed species identity using Sanger sequencing of mitochondrial DNA, and analyzed diet composition via DNA metabarcoding. Altogether, we collected 195 confirmed L. pardinoides scats. Records were strongly associated with high elevations, with a median elevation of 2805 m, and a maximum of 3422 m. Our findings highlight core habitat for L. pardinoides in the Cordillera Talamanca mountains in the border region of Panama and Costa Rica, and we identified isolated populations from the Central Volcanic Cordillera of Costa Rica and the Central Cordillera of Panama. DNA metabarcoding detected 59 vertebrate taxa. Diet was dominated by small mammals (74% of samples), especially cricetid rodents and shrews. Birds were also commonly detected (35% of samples), while reptiles (13%) and amphibians (1.9%) were less frequent. Estimated median adult prey mass was low (25 g), indicating that the species specializes on small prey. Most vertebrate prey identified were species endemic to montane regions of Panama and Costa Rica. These findings provide valuable ecological and natural history data on Clouded Tiger Cats in Central America that will inform conservation and management of this recently recognized species.