Meet the
world's newest monkey. The white-cheeked macaque, Macaca leucogenys, has
been discovered in south-eastern Tibet, in biodiverse yet poorly studied
forests in the politically volatile area.
It is
distinguished from the other four macaque species
in the region by its rounded glans penis and a dark, hairy scrotum. Other
macaques there have a spear-shaped glans penis and white scrotums. It also has
thick, long hair around its neck, unlike the other four species.
The
world's newest monkey, the White-cheeked Macaque, Macaca leucogenys, has
been discovered in south-eastern Tibet.
It forages in a
wide range of habitats, from tropical forests at an altitude of 1395 metres up
to at 2700 metres in mixed forests of broad-leaves and conifers. The landscape
of Tibetan state Modog, where it was found, encompasses low-lying grasslands,
tropical and evergreen forests and alpine meadows, providing habitats for a
great diversity of species.
"It
is an area where there's been very little scientific exploration, partly
because of political conflicts," says Paul Garber, executive editor of the
American Journal of Primatology, where the discovery is reported.
"The
forest in Modog is like a nature library, and we know very little about
it," says Chao Zhao, a researcher at China's Dali University's Institute
of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, who worked on the study.
"Discovery of the new macaque species suggests that there may be some
species that still remain undiscovered in this area."
Caught on camera
His team set up
camera traps in four Tibetan gorges capturing more than 700 photos of macaques.
They then analysed the photos and compared them with photos of known species.
"Our
photos clearly showed some morphological differences between the new species
and other known species," says co-author Peng-Fei Fan,
also at Dali University.
Given the
isolation of this region, Michael A. Schillaci, an anthropologist at the University of Toronto, Scarborough, in Canada
also thinks we would expect to see more new species there. But he says that
pictures aren't enough to classify this as a new species yet. Only DNA can
prove the monkey's distinction from other macaques, he says.
Regardless of
its status, the macaque already faces threats from hunting by local tribes and
planned construction in the region, the researchers say.
"Construction
of hydropower stations would result in destroying and flooding extensive areas
of forest along the rivers, the potential habitat for white cheeked
macaques," they write. "The immigration of a large number of people
into the area to construct the hydropower stations also will result in an
increase in the bushmeat trade, deforestation, new roads, and the construction
of housing for workers, all of which will have a negative impact on
white-cheeked macaque conservation."
Journal
reference: American Journal of Primatology, DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22394
