A new species of saber-toothed leopard has
been discovered in Borneo.
It is a modern-day sabre-tooth tiger with fearsome fangs capable of killing its prey in a single bite.
This clouded leopard which feasts on monkeys, deer and pigs has been discovered living deep in the Borneo rain forest.
Long thought to be identical to the clouded leopards living on mainland South East Asia, genetic analysis has shown that the Bornean big cat is in fact a separate species.
Scientists have counted at least 40 key differences in the DNA of the two felines - making the two species of clouded leopard almost as different as a lion is to a tiger.
Some of the differences are clear to the naked eye, with the elliptical spots or 'clouds' which give it its name, being smaller and darker on the island variety.
The Bornean clouded leopard also has darker fur than its mainland cousin.
Dr Andrew Kitchener, of National Museums Scotland, said: "The moment we started comparing the skins of the mainland clouded leopard with the leopard found on Borneo, it was clear we were comparing two different species.
"It's incredible that no one has ever noticed these differences."
The research, which forms part of the WWF's Heart of Borneo conservation project, brings the number of new species to have emerged from the island's jungles in the last year to over 50.
Plants and animals new to science include two species of tree frog and 30 types of fish, including a catfish with an adhesive belly that allows it to stick to rocks.
The scientists say the remote, and for a long time, inaccessible, forests of the world's third largest island are one of the 'final frontiers for science - a Lost World that must be preserved from threats from the logging and rubber industries.
The Heart of Borneo, an 84,000 square mile, wild, mountainous region, covered with equatorial rain forest in the centre of the island, is the last great home of the Bornean clouded leopard.
The island's most fearsome predator, the clouded leopard has the longest canine teeth of any feline, with fully-grown cats boasting fangs that are up to two-inches long.
The leopard is about the size of a labrador retriever, but we wouldn't recommend trying to pat one on the head. Nothing like two inch fangs to encourage people to keep their distance. We only hope that this report doesn't spur poachers to go after the leopard now.
