Orange lips and roaring calls: meet the DRC’s shy new rainforest monkey
Researchers have officially identified a new monkey species, the Likweli, in the Democratic Republic of Congo after years of field study. The primate is distinguished by its unique orange lips and deep, roaring calls, marking a rare discovery in modern primatology.
Why it matters
The discovery highlights the biodiversity of the Congo rainforest and underscores the importance of continued conservation efforts in the region.
Likweli, the world’s most recently described monkey. Courtesy Junior Amboko. https://theconversation.com/orange-lips-and-roaring-calls-meet-the-drcs-shy-new-rainforest-monkey-288470 https://theconversation.com/orange-lips-and-roaring-calls-meet-the-drcs-shy-new-rainforest-monkey-288470 Link copied Share article Share article
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There are 536 species of monkeys in the world today and the Democratic Republic of Congo has a new one. Named Likweli, this rainforest primate is one of only five new African monkey species described in the past 75 years. Despite its distinctive orange lips, it has only been spotted by locals a few times since 2008. It took PhD student in biological sciences Junior Amboko (who named the new monkey) and an international team that included anthropologist Kate Detwiler years of searching by foot and canoe, and conducting field observations, photographs, audio recordings, genetic analysis and anatomical analysis to prove that Likweli was a species new to science. They explain their search.
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