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solonavi 8 February 2008 Discovery 2,412 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

National Geographic

A previously unknown species of uakari monkey was found during recent hunting trips in the Amazon, a New Zealand primatologist has announced. Jean-Phillipe Boubli of the University of Auckland found the animal after following native Yanomamo Indians on their hunts along the Rio Aracá, a tributary of the Rio Negro in Brazil.

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Uakaris normally live in flooded river forests, but this one turned up in a mountainous region on the Brazil-Venezuela border, far from its nearest relatives.

“There is another species of primate in that region which is very similar to the uakari,” Boubli said.

The two compete ecologically, he added, “so wherever that monkey occurs, you don’t expect to find uakaris. That’s why I wasn’t really looking in those places.”

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Little is known about the creature’s habits, but Boubli said it lives in social groups and is likely a seed-eater, based on his observations of other uakaris.

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A formal description of C. ayresii has been submitted to the International Journal of Primatology.

Meanwhile, some of Boubli’s students will return to Pico de Neblina to study the new monkey’s environment and behavior.

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In 2003 Boubli described another new species from the region, the bearded saki.

And he believes that new types of spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and capuchin monkeys await confirmation.

“If we are still finding monkeys, imagine how many invertebrates and things like that are still out there. It’s pretty amazing.”

A new species of uakari monkey, seen above, was recently found in a mountainous region of the Amazon by a New Zealand primatologist. The animal, dubbed Cacajao ayresii, lives outside protected lands and is hunted by locals, prompting the expert to call the newfound creature “quite vulnerable.”