A “weird cat” spotted in Bolivia has turned out to be something scientists had never seen before.

Researchers have identified a completely new wild cat species, Leopardus tilcayo, in the Yungas forest of Bolivia. The tiny spotted feline weighs only around 3 pounds and is even smaller than the average house cat. What makes the discovery even more incredible is that it’s the first new living cat species described by science in more than 100 years.

The story started when a wildlife sanctuary received a call about a strange-looking cat found as a kitten near a forest road. At first, scientists thought it might be a known tiger cat, but genetic research involving 38 Leopardus individuals revealed that it had been evolving separately for around 1.4 million years.

And somehow, one of the world’s most familiar animal families still had a secret waiting to be found in the forests of Bolivia.