The Lesula: newly discovered African primate

Mickeroo · 13-09-2012 8:32pm #1

Ok, the discovery was originally made in 2007 but it's just been genetically verified as a new species, which makes it official! It was discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the local native name for it is Lesula and the latin name is Cercopithecus Lomamiensis.

Lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) has a naked face and a mane of long blond hairs, and is described by the researchers who identified it as shy and quiet. It lives on the ground and in trees in a 6,500 square mile habitat of the lowland rainforests in the centre of the DRC between the middle Lomami (the inspiration for its name) and the upper Tshuapa Rivers. Its diet is mostly fruit and vegetation.

.......

The monkey lives mostly in small groups of one to five, and only one animal was seen on its own during eight encounters. In what they describe as an "exceptional" sighting, the researchers observed an apparent attack on one of the monkeys by a crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus), which killed the female monkey.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/13/new-monkey-species-congo-lesula

Here's another article about Lesula's face: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/13/lesula-new-monkey-familiar

And what an espressive almost human like face it is!

Here also is a link to the academic article on it's discovery: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0044271

Unfortunately it's already considered to be a threatened species.