{"id":7485,"date":"2026-07-16T09:04:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T04:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7485"},"modified":"2026-07-16T09:04:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T04:04:42","slug":"new-monkey-species-with-orange-lips-found-hiding-in-dr-congo-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7485","title":{"rendered":"New monkey species with orange lips found &#8216;hiding&#8217; in DR Congo forest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-article-body=\"true\" data-body-type=\"bodyblocks\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A monkey that has striking pinkish-orange lips and a black face &#8211; and lives in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo &#8211; has been confirmed as a new species to science.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The black-furred primate was spotted and photographed hidden away in the high tree canopy of dense tropical forests in Lomami National Park, in the central east of the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Conservationists working there first reported seeing this unusual-looking animal back in 2008. But they captured just one blurry photograph.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After another sighting 10 years later, an international team set out to find and study the monkey and revealed that it was a previously unknown species.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">This is only the fifth African monkey species to be discovered in the last 75 years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Junior Amboko, a PhD student at Florida Atlantic University, played a leading role in the search, which involved audio recordings, photography and detailed genetic studies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The findings were <a data-ylk=\"slk:published in the journal PLoS One;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/plos.io\/3RcuRwW\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">published in the journal PLoS One<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Amboko told BBC News it was an &#8220;amazing feeling&#8221; to look into the face of an animal that so few people knew existed.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-4 text-xl font-bold md:text-2xl\">Secretive species<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Two researchers, one holding a microphone on a long pole, and one carrying a recording device, work in the dense rainforest to capture the call of the Colobus congoensis monkey.\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/64273b70074e7b988682f722a1731d8dd53dc3442ec5143145566982b5641af6\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbbc_us_articles_995%2Fbc6fc865e19cf5000a0c8a34815d0377\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><default:path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/default:svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Junior Amboko (left) and Mardoch\u00e9 B. Koko recorded the distinctive, resonant roar of the newly discovered Colobus congoensis monkey in the Lomami National Park, DRC [Junior Amboko]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Discovering&#8221; a species, in this context, means officially recording and confirming it has evolved to be genetically distinct. Some local people already knew of the monkey&#8217;s existence and refer to it by a common name &#8211; Likweli.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But Amboko said the monkeys were &#8220;kind of shy&#8221; &#8211; and tended to hide high in the trees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;As part of our search, we interviewed people in 52 villages close to where the animals live. And only people in eight villages [had ever seen] them,&#8221; he recalled.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The research team &#8211; from DRC, the US and Germany &#8211; gave the animal the Latin name <em>Colobus congoensis<\/em> in recognition of the natural diversity in the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">It belongs to the larger group of colobus monkeys. &#8220;These are really important African monkeys that don&#8217;t have thumbs,&#8221; explained Prof Kate Detwiler from Florida Atlantic University.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;They&#8217;re these herbivores of the canopy that are a critical part of the ecosystem. We think they have a lot to do with processing seeds and germination in the forest.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Prof Detwiler speculates that their unusual, bright facial markings could be a visual signal to other animals, potentially attractive to a mate or that it could allow the animals to identify each other.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The monkeys also have a distinctive &#8220;roaring&#8221; call. &#8220;You often hear them, but don&#8217;t see them,&#8221; said Amboko.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">They think the animals are rare and restricted to a part of the forest where they can find the food and habitat they need.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The animals are hunted for meat, so the researchers hope that now that <em>Colobus congoensis<\/em> is classified as a distinct species it can be officially protected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The researchers say they still have a lot of questions about this newly described, secretive species. They plan to carry out a more detailed survey to estimate their population and study their behaviour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A monkey that has striking pinkish-orange lips and a black face &#8211; and lives in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo &#8211; has been confirmed as a new species to science. The black-furred primate was spotted and photographed hidden away in the high tree canopy of dense tropical forests in Lomami National Park,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/842d7f0e74ed81d40482b84588675b91e35e6deec2555d1abf6dbf8ad5ff4e9a\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w1200;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fbbc_us_articles_995%2Ff12142b1f44a52efb0c8bc5ff60841e7","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}