Legendary 'cat-fox' could be a new subspecies

For generations, local shepherds on the Mediterranean island of Corsica have shared stories about the "ghjattu volpe," or "cat-fox," attacking the udders of sheep and goats, AFP reported in 2019. Scientists first documented their existence in 1929 and may soon be able to declare them a new subspecies after almost 100 years thanks to new genetics research.

Corsican wildcats get their "cat-fox" nickname from their fox-like color and large tail. Despite what their nickname suggests, these animals are not cat-fox hybrids; they're definitely all cat. Corsican wildcats belong to the genus Felis alongside other wildcats and domestic cats, but researchers are studying their genetics to figure out their exact placement in the group.

Some media outlets have suggested that Corsican wildcats are a new species — Live Science reported that this was a possibility in 2019 — but that's not strictly true. A study published in the journal Molecular Ecology on Jan. 19 of this year found that Corsican wildcats might be a subspecies, or distinct group within a known Felis species.

"We have the proof that this small cat has its own genetic identity," study co-author Sébastien Devillard, an assistant professor of evolutionary ecology at the Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University in France, told Live Science. "This is the first step for it to be recognized as a subspecies."

The French Office for Biodiversity, which was involved in the long-running study, published a statement about the January findings on March 16.

Related: Adorable, remorseless killing machine is world's deadliest cat

Devillard and his colleagues compared genetic samples from wildcats and domestic cats on Corsica with those from the neighboring island of Sardinia and mainland Europe. They found that Corsican wildcats were distinct from European wildcats, domestic cats and, to a lesser extent, the wildcats of Sardinia.