In 1989, a skin of a small spotted cat, from the Galeras Volcano in southern Colombia (Nariño Department), was donated to the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt (identification, ID 5857) at Villa de Leyva (Boyacá Department, Colombia). Although originally classified asLeopardus tigrinus, its distinctiveness merits a new taxonomic designation. The skin is distinct from all knownL. tigrinusholotypes as well as from otherLeopardusspecies. Analysis of the complete mitochondrial genomes from 44 felid specimens (including 18L. tigrinusand all the current known species of the genusLeopardus), the mtND5gene from 84 felid specimens (including 30L. tigrinusand all the species of the genusLeopardus), and six nuclear DNA microsatellites (113 felid specimens of all the current known species of the genusLeopardus) indicate that this specimen does not belong to any previously recognizedLeopardustaxon. The mtND5gene suggests this new lineage (the Nariño cat as we name it) is a sister taxon ofLeopardus colocola. The mitogenomic and nuclear DNA microsatellite analyses suggest that this new lineage is the sister taxon to a clade formed by Central American and trans-AndeanL. tigrinus+ (Leopardus geoffroyi+Leopardus guigna). The temporal split between the ancestor of this new possible species and the most recent ancestor withinLeoparduswas dated to 1.2–1.9 million years ago. We consider that this new unique lineage is a new species, and we propose the scientific nameLeopardus narinensis.