A new species of forest monkey, Likweli, has been described in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
A species of forest monkey previously unknown to science has been described in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and named Likweli, according to Phys.org. The primate is distinguished by its orange lips. It is one of five new species of African monkeys described over the past 75 years.
Local residents have seen the animal only a few times since 2008. To prove that Likweli is a distinct species, the team spent years searching for it in the forest, traveling on foot and by canoe.
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The international team included Junior Amboko, a doctoral student in biological sciences, and anthropologist Kate Detwiler. Amboko named the new species. The researchers used field observations, photographs, audio recordings, and genetic and anatomical analyses.
This evidence confirmed the species’ novelty to science. According to the data, there are currently 536 species of monkeys in the world.
