CONGO City  –  A new species of monkey with distinctive orange lips and a deep roaring call has been identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Colobus congoensis, known to local people as Likweli, is just the fifth new monkey species scientists have identified in Africa in the last 75 years, according to a study published in the journal PLOS ONE Wednesday. The monkey has a glossy black coat, long fur, a sweeping tail and striking orange-cream facial markings, said researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and the City University of New York Graduate Center in statements on Wednesday. They added that the species has “distinctive cranial, dental, and skeletal characteristics that separate it from every other known African colobus monkey.”  It is also smaller than related Colobus monkeys, weighing around 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms).  “It is distinguished by sleek, light-reflecting fur and dramatic facial features created by long black facial hairs and large folded ears,” said FAU. “The discovery of Colobus congoensis is reshaping our understanding of African monkey evolution,” said study senior author Kate Detwiler, an associate professor of biological sciences in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. “Its closest known relative is Colobus satanas, found more than 1,200 kilometers (746 miles) away in west-central Africa,” she said.

 “Yet our genetic evidence shows the two species diverged roughly 4 to 5 million years ago, marking one of the oldest known evolutionary splits within the Colobus lineage.” The process of describing the new species began in 2008, when an unusual monkey was photographed by researchers working in east-central DRC. Ten years later, they made a clearer observation, and went on to make 114 sightings from 2018-2022. In addition to its anatomy and field observations, researchers also had to study the monkey’s genetics and use local ecological knowledge to prove that this was a species that had never been described before.