New Species of Monkey Discovered in India

Neat article in today's New York Times

Stocky Monkey in Himalayas Becomes Newest Primate Species
By CORNELIA DEAN

Published: December 16, 2004

Scientists from India working in the Himalayas have discovered a new species of monkey, a stocky, short-tailed, brown-haired creature they have named the Macaca munzala, or Arunachal macaque.

Though new species of insects and other tiny creatures turn up frequently, discoveries of primate species unknown to science are far more unusual. The last macaque monkey species to be identified, the Indonesia Pagai macaque, was discovered in 1903, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the parent organization of the Bronx Zoo. The society was a supporter of the expeditions, this year and last, in which the monkeys were observed.

Scientists for the society, the Nature Conservation Foundation and other organizations traveled to the mountainous Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders Tibet and Myanmar, to inventory the region's wildlife. They found 14 troops, or bands, of monkeys, most with 10 or fewer animals. The monkeys differ from other macaques in the dark hair on their heads, their distinctive facial markings and, in particular, the relatively short length of their tails.

The Wildlife Conservation Society says it is not known how many of the monkeys there are, or whether they are threatened.

The researchers, who describe their discovery in a paper to be published in The International Journal of Primatology, said the monkeys sometimes lived close to villages but were wary of people. In undisturbed forest areas, the researchers wrote, "they seemed extremely shy, rapidly disappearing through the undergrowth as soon as they sensed human presence."

Though the monkeys are new to science, people in the area are quite familiar with them. They call them "mun zala" or deep forest monkeys, the wildlife society said.

In recent years, other expeditions to Arunachal Pradesh have turned up several species not known to exist in India. Dr. Colleen McCann, curator of primates at the Bronx Zoo, said these discoveries suggested that despite the destructive activities of people, there were still "tiny pockets of habitat that have yet to be discovered."

Uhhhhhh...wheres the fez?