New species of orange-lipped monkey found hiding in DRC forest

A monkey with amazing pink-orange lips and a black face – lives in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo – has been confirmed as a new species for science.

A dark-haired primate was spotted and photographed in the dense canopy of trees in the central-east of the country’s Lomi National Park.

Conservationists working there first reported seeing this rare animal in 2008. But they took a blurry photo.

After another sighting 10 years later, an international team set out to find and study the monkey, revealing that it was a previously unknown species.

This is the fifth African monkey species discovered in the last 75 years.

Junior Amboko, a doctoral student at Florida Atlantic University, played a leading role in the search, which included audio recordings, photography and detailed genetic studies.

The findings were. It was published in the journal PLoS One, External.

Amboko told BBC News that it was an amazing feeling to see the face of an animal that very few people knew.