Brazil, July 09: Researchers have discovered a new species of monkey, related to the saddleback tamarin, in the remote reaches of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.
The distinctive long-tailed monkey, which was first spotted in 2007, is related to the saddleback tamarin, a species known for the distinctive markings on its back.
The tiny monkey is only a little over 20 centimeters tall, with a 30-centimeter-long tail and weighs around 213 grams. The monkey is mostly grey and brown with mottling on its back.
Wildlife Conservation Society researchers have named the subspecies Mura’s saddleback tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis mura) after the Mura Indians who inhabit the area.
“This newly described monkey shows that even today there are still major wildlife discoveries to be made,” said the study’s lead author, Fabio Rohe, of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.
“This discovery should serve as a wake-up call that there is still so much to learn from the world’s wild places, yet humans continue to threaten these areas with destruction,” Rohe said.
A major highway will cut through the Purus and Madeira river basins where the monkey is located, and two hydroelectric dams are in development further downstream.
The dam projects “will potentially threaten the riparian ecosystems along the entire course of the Rio Madeira and its tributaries,” the researchers’ statement read.
—–Agencies