Sunday, 28 August 2011

New monkey species discovered in Brazil...


They just keep on coming! New species are saying hello on an almost a daily basis with improved support for exploration investigation, and news that our planet is home to over 8.5 million species (of which only 1.7 million have been discovered!) So to find a new large mammal is certainly a rewarding discovery, so please say hello to the brand new species of monkey. This reddish primate has yet to be named, but belongs to the Callicebus genus, also known as titi monkeys.

The newcomer was discovered on an expedition in December 2010. WWF, the conservation body that sponsored the expedition, announced the find today. The monkey lives in the north-west of Mato Grosso State, one of the last unexplored areas in Brazil. 

Julio Dalponte, who discovered the primate, spotted features on the monkey's head and tail that had never been seen before on other titi monkey species found in the same area.

A specimen of the monkey has been given to the Emílio Goeldi Museum in Brazil for study, but it will be several months before the new species is fully described by zoologists.

The expedition also uncovered two possible new fish species: a catfish and a brightly-coloured freshwater tetra. They join the 48 mammal, 208 fish and 313 bird species counted in the area. 

No comments:

Post a Comment