New Monkey Species Found In India
A new species of monkey has been discovered in the remote northeastern
region of India, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society announced.
The Arunachal macaque is a relatively large brown primate with a comparatively
short tail and was named for the Indian state in which it was found.
"This new species comes from a biologically rich area that is perhaps India's
last unknown frontier," said WCS conservation scientist Dr. M.D. Madhusudan.
The Arunachal macaque is the latest addition to the macaque family, a group
with some 20 different species occurring mainly in Asia across a variety
of different habitats. The new species is also one of the highest-dwelling
primates in the world, occurring between 1,600 and 3,500 meters about sea
level.
The last species of macaque to be discovered in the wild, the Indonesian
Pagai macaque, was described in 1903.
Recent expeditions into Arunachal Pradesh by WCS's Indian partners have
also reported the leaf deer, the black barking deer and the Chinese goral
-- all species that were previously unknown from India.
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