Researchers find new monkey species in Tanzanian mountain
Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society have discovered a new species of monkey in Tanzania.
The latest find, named Lophocebus kipunji or the Highland Mangabey, is the first such discovery in Africa over the past 20 years and only the third new monkey species that WCS scientists have found in the past six months.
The new species is described in the current issue of Science. The Highland Mangabey, a long-haired forest primate, was first discovered on the flanks of the 2961 m volcanic Mt Rungwe and in the adjoining Kitulo National Park.
Last December, WCS researchers found a new species of macaque in India, followed by a new variety of titi monkey in Bolivia.
"This discovery proves that there is still so much to learn about the more remote and less well-known areas of Tanzania, and Africa as a whole," said Dr Tim Davenport, who directs the WCS Southern Highlands Conservation Programme. Dr Davenport, who led the team of Noah Mpunga, Sophy Machaga and Dr Daniela De Luca who found the monkey, said, "Having been so involved in the creation of Kitulo National Park, and the conservation of Mt Rungwe, it has been very exciting for us to help reveal more of their secrets."
The same species of monkey was independently discovered in Ndundulu Forest Reserve in the Udzungwa Mountains in a project led by Dr Carolyn Ehardt, a University of Georgia primatologist.
The project focuses on conservation of the critically endangered Sanje mangabey endemic to the mountains.
First sighted by Richard Laizzer and observed by research biologist Trevor Jones, while working as field assistants for the project, the monkey was then identified as a new species by Ehardt and by Dr Tom Butynski, who directs Conservation International’s Eastern Africa Biodiversity Hotspots Programme.
When Ehardt and Davenport became aware in October 2004 of the parallel discoveries in their two projects, the two teams then joined forces to write the article for Science.
The new arboreal mangabey is brown, with a head and body length of about 90 cm. It is characterised by a long, erect crest of hair on its head, elongated cheek whiskers, an off-white belly and tail, and an unusual call, termed a "honk-bark" by the authors.
The monkeys are found as high as 2450 metres where temperatures frequently drop to below freezing; its long coat is probably an adaptation to the cold.
The taxonomic name of the species, Lophocebus kipunji, recognizes the monkey’s local Kinyakyusa name, which is used by some hunters around Mt Rungwe.
The highland mangabey is "extremely rare and critically endangered," with a total population of between 500 and 1,000 animals.
Also noted by Davenport, the Southern Highlands forests – including those of Mt Rungwe and Kitulo – are severely degraded by illegal logging, and, without prompt action, the animal’s future is in jeopardy.
Russell A. Mittermeier, who chairs the Primate Specialist Group of IUCN – the World Conservation Union's Species Survival Commission, says, "This exciting discovery demonstrates once again how little we know about our closest living relatives, the nonhuman primates. A large, striking monkey in a country of considerable wildlife research over the past century has been hidden right under our noses."
"Clearly, this remarkable discovery shows that there are still wild places where humans are not the dominant species," said Dr John G. Robinson, senior vice-president and director of International Conservation Programmes for WCS. "This new species of monkey should serve as a living symbol that there is hope in protecting not only wild places like Tanzania’s southern highlands, but the wonder and mystery they contain."
