Health & Fitness
New Species of Monkey Discovered in Africa
A new monkey species has been discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hopefully, with this discovery comes an initiative for conservation and awareness.
A team of researchers have recently released a paper in the open-access PLoS ONE Journal concerning the discovery of a new monkey species in Africa, according to an article on abcnews.com.
The monkey's scientific name is Cercopithecus Lomamiensis, but is called Lesula by locals in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
John Hart, Lead Researcher of Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History and the Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation new that Lesula was a brand new species the moment he saw it in 2007 after looking through a collection of photographs.
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He noticed the monkey being kept in a local village as a 13 year old's pet.
Lesula has large eyes, a long nose and a bareface. Males can weigh up to fifteen pounds (twice as large as a female) and have a bright blue buttocks that stand out in the forest.
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Hopefully the discovery of this fascinating primate will lead to further protection and awareness. Bush meat is in high demand in the local area. Protecting this newly discovered species is paramount.
The Guardian Newspaper online wrote about a study, also published in the PLoS One Journal, that, "an astonishing 86-percent of all plants and animals on land and 91-percent of those in the seas have yet to be named and catalogued."
What do you think of this exciting news? Let me know in the Comments. Thank you for reading.
