A monkey hand (illustration).

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Pixabay / cocoparisienne

A new species of monkey has been discovered in Burma.

The small primate, whose body measures between 50 and 60 centimeters, was named Popa langur by researchers from the German Primate Center (DPZ) and the environmental NGO Fauna and Flora International (FFI), who identified it after long research.

Alarmingly, this newly described langur is already staring extinction in the face.



The biggest population (around 100) can be found in the vicinity of Mount Popa, an extinct volcano and pilgrimage site which provides a vital sanctuary for wildlife 🌋 @ NHM_London |

@DPZ_eu

- Fauna & Flora Int.

(@FaunaFloraInt) November 11, 2020

It is a species of "langur" (

Trachypithecus

, its scientific name), a monkey endemic to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

It was named after Mount Popa, a sacred site built on an ancient volcano in central Burma.

This is where the most important group of the species, which is about a hundred individuals, has been located.

Three other groups have been identified, still in the center of the country, for a total of between 200 and 250 individuals.

DNA comparisons

The specificity of this new species has been demonstrated in particular by comparing the DNA taken from the droppings of different populations of

Trachypithecus

, wild or in captivity, and historical specimens kept in museums.

It is finally "the DNA analysis of a specimen collected for the Natural History Museum in London more than 100 years ago that allowed the description of this new species".

It would have separated from the other langurs about a million years ago, underlined Christian Roos, researcher of the DPZ.

The Popa langur differs in particular by its color, the length of its tail and the size of its skull, according to the researchers.

"Barely identified, the Popa langur is already threatened with extinction", however warned this Wednesday Frank Momberg, one of the researchers of the FFI, quoted in a press release.

"New field studies and urgent protection measures will be carried out by the FFI and others to preserve the langurs from extinction", stressed, for his part, primatologist Ngwe Lwin.

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