Newly Identified Monkey Species with Distinctive Orange Lips Discovered in DRC

A newly identified primate with striking pinkish‑orange lips and a black face, inhabiting the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been confirmed as a previously unknown species.

The black‑colored primate was observed and photographed high in the canopy of dense tropical forests within Lomami National Park, located in central‑eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Conservationists first documented the unusual animal in 2008, obtaining only a single, indistinct photograph.

A decade later, following another sighting, an international research team launched a comprehensive investigation, confirming the animal to be a new species.

This discovery marks only the fifth new African monkey species identified within the past 75 years.

Junior Amboko, a PhD candidate at Florida Atlantic University, played a pivotal role in the investigation, which incorporated audio recordings, photography, and detailed genetic analyses.

The findings were published in the journal PLoS Oneexternal.

Amboko told BBC News it was an “amazing feeling” to gaze upon an animal known to so few people.

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