A New Primate Emerges from the Congolese Rainforest
Scientists have formally identified a new primate species, Colobus congoensis, hidden deep within the remote rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Known locally as the “likweli,” the monkey is defined by a white patch of fur near the tail, distinctive vocalizations, and signature orange-cream colored lips. Findings published in the journal PLOS One on July 15 confirmed the species through a combination of field observations and genetic sequencing.
Years of Searching in Lomami National Park
The path to identification began in 2008, when conservationists first captured blurry images of an elusive monkey. It would take another decade before Junior Amboko, a researcher with Lomami National Park and an anthropologist at Florida Atlantic University, launched a targeted effort in 2018 to formally document the animal.
To track the elusive primate, the team consulted residents from 52 local villages. Hunters in the region were already well-acquainted with the monkey, calling it “likweli” or, in the Mituku local communities, “kasaba nkoni”—which translates to “the branch shaker.” Between 2018 and 2022, researchers logged 114 sightings across a 1,700-square-kilometer range trapped between the Lomami and Lualaba rivers.
Genetic Divergence and Evolutionary History
DNA analysis was the final piece of the puzzle. Kate Detwiler, an anthropologist at Florida Atlantic University and co-author of the study, utilized tissue samples recovered from the illegal bushmeat trade to map the primate’s mitochondrial genome.
“My lab got the tissue sample and did the genetics, and we were shocked by how divergent the key area of the mitochondrial genome was from other colobus monkeys,” Detwiler said.
The data suggests C. congoensis split from its closest relative, the black colobus (Colobus satanas), between 3.44 million and 5.78 million years ago. This represents the longest known split between species within the Colobus genus. Curiously, while the species coexists with the Angola colobus, its closest genetic kin reside 1,200 kilometers away in West Africa—a geographic gap researchers find remarkable.
Urgent Calls for Conservation
The discovery underscores the ecological weight of the Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest. Due to the species’ confined geographic range and mounting pressures from habitat loss, researchers have urged that C. congoensis be classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
A Rare Addition to African Primatology
This identification marks only the fifth new monkey species discovered in Africa in the last 75 years. It follows the 2012 identification of the lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis), which was also found in this same region. For Amboko, the “likweli” is likely just one of many secrets held by this biodiversity hotspot, suggesting that additional primate and mammal species may still be awaiting scientific documentation.
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