An international team of researchers has discovered a species of African primate, Cercopithecus lomamiensis , known locally as the lesula . It is the second new species of monkey discovered in Africa in the last 28 years, according to the journal PLoS ONE .
The first time scientists saw a lesula specimen was in 2007, at a teacher's home in the city of Opala, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The young animal was similar to the owl-faced monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni), but its coloration was different from that of any other known species. Over the next three years, the study authors, led by experts from the Congo Lukuru Foundation and the Peabody Museum in the US, found new specimens and studied their genetics, behavior and habitat.
Lesula has an average size that ranges between 47 and 65 centimeters long for males, and between 40 and 42 for females. It has long limbs and a slender body, and it feeds on leaves, fruits, flower buds and some herbaceous plants. In profile it has a particularly prominent nose and its large eye sockets stand out. Lesulas are elusive animals that normally live in small family groups of about five individuals, made up of a male, female and young. They are quite sociable and often associate with other species of primates to search for food.
The species is considered threatened by local hunting for bushmeat.
