A new species
of monkey has been identified in Africa, researchers have said.
The species,
known locally as the lesula, was discovered after a young female was seen kept
captive at the home of a primary school director in the Democratic Republic of
Congo in 2007.
The young
animal resembled an owl faced monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni) but its colouring
was different to that of any known species, the researchers writing in the
journal PLoS ONE said.
Other wild
lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) have since been found in their remote range
in central Democratic Republic of Congo, where they live in forests and feed on
leafstalks, fruit and flower buds.
The discovery
of the new species, in one of the country's last unexplored forest areas, is
only the second time a new monkey species has been found in Africa in the last
28 years.
Although the
6,500 square mile area in which the shy lesula is found is remote and sparsely
populated, the researchers warn the monkey is vulnerable to extinction as a
result of hunting for bush meat.
They called
for controls on hunting and the creation of a protected area covering its range
to conserve the lesula and other wildlife found in the region.
Researcher
John Hart said: "The challenge for conservation now in Congo is to
intervene before losses become definitive.
"Species with small
ranges like
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