New species alert: Colobus Congoensis is a monkey with orange lips

BUMBA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - APRIL 6: Unidentified villagers paddle in their wooden dugout canoes along the Congo River on April 6, 2006 in Bumba, Congo, DRC.(Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Exclusive by Getty Images)

A new species of monkey with distinctive orange lips and a deep roaring call has been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Colobus congoensis, known to local people as Likweli, is just the fifth new monkey species scientists have identified in Africa in the last 75 years, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE Wednesday.

The monkey has a glossy black coat, long fur, a sweeping tail and striking orange-cream facial markings, said researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and the City University of New York Graduate Center in statements on Wednesday.

They added that the species has “distinctive cranial, dental, and skeletal characteristics that separate it from every other known African colobus monkey.”

It is also smaller than related Colobus monkeys, weighing around 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms).

“It is distinguished by sleek, light-reflecting fur and dramatic facial features created by long black facial hairs and large folded ears,” said FAU.

“The discovery of Colobus congoensis is reshaping our understanding of African monkey evolution,” said study senior author Kate Detwiler, an associate professor of biological sciences in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.

“Its closest known relative is Colobus satanas, found more than 1,200 kilometers (746 miles) away in west-central Africa,” she said. “Yet our genetic evidence shows the two species diverged roughly 4 to 5 million years ago, marking one of the oldest known evolutionary splits within the Colobus lineage.”

The process of describing the new species began in 2008, when an unusual monkey was photographed by researchers working in east-central DRC. Ten years later, they made a clearer observation, and went on to make 114 sightings from 2018-2022.

In addition to its anatomy and field observations, researchers also had to study the monkey’s genetics and use local ecological knowledge to prove that this was a species that had never been described before.

“When a potential new species is discovered, the evidence has to be overwhelming,” said coauthor Christopher Gilbert, professor of anthropology at the CUNY Graduate Center and Hunter College, in the CUNY statement.

“We analyzed museum collections and comparative datasets, examining skulls, pelts, and skeletal anatomy alongside specimens from known African colobus monkeys,” he said. “Those comparisons allowed us to demonstrate conclusively that Colobus congoensis represents a distinct species.”

However, there are some conservation concerns for Likweli, given the fact that the sightings were made across a range of around 1,700 square kilometers (656 square miles).

“The researchers propose that Colobus congoensis be classified as Endangered because of its restricted range, habitat loss, and hunting pressure,” reads the CUNY statement. “Most of its known habitat lies within Lomami National Park, making protection of the region critical for the species’ survival.”

‘Rare and exciting’

Alexander Georgiev, a senior lecturer in primatology at Bangor University, Wales, who was not involved in the study, called the analysis “very thorough and convincing.”

“Finding a new monkey species that is not only unknown to science but is also little known to the people that live where it occurs is very rare and exciting indeed,” he told CNN on Thursday.

“The authors of the study report that residents in only eight of a total of 52 villages that border the range of this new species they visited were able to provide information about this primate and describe it,” said Georgiev.

“This explains why it has taken this long for the species to be documented for science,” he added.

“The Congolese rainforest where this primate lives is vast and large parts of it is not well explored by scientists.”