An international team of scientists has discovered a new species of primate in the Borneo rainforest . According to the authors of the finding in the American Journal of Primatology , the animal is a lazy lori or slow lori ( Nycticebus ), a genus of primates related to lemurs that live in Asia and that are exceptional because their bite is toxic, which which makes them the only poisonous monkeys in the world . Those who receive a bite from these animals experience inflammation, pain and even necrosis of the affected area. Otherwise, lazy lorises have quite large eyes, are nocturnal and move very slowly and silently, to avoid predators.
Each species of lazy lori has a unique fur coloration on its body and face. In fact, their face appears to be covered by a mask, with distinctive eye patches and distinctly shaped spots on their heads . The differences in these colored "masks" are not always obvious, which explains why the new Nycticebus kayan – named after the river that irrigates the area where it is found (the Kayan River) – has not been identified until now.
The discovery of the new species suggests that there may be more diversity than we imagine pending to be discovered in Borneo and the surrounding islands, including the Philippines, the researchers conclude.
