But it's a real, brand-new monkey, discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo--only the second new monkey species in the past 28 years. Meet the lesula.
By Dan Nosowitz Posted 09.13.2012 at 11:28 am 17 Comments

Lesula via CNN

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, scientists have discovered a new species of monkey--only the second in the last 28 years. The lesula is a guenon, a genus of Old World monkeys found exclusively in sub-Saharan Africa, and while guenons are very common, the lesula was unknown to western science until a chance meeting in 2007. A scientific team happened to find one being kept as a pet, leashed to a fencepost. It was known quite well to hunters of the area, but the scientists had never seen it before, hence discovery. Like the other guenons, it's a smallish, forest-dwelling monkey, preyed upon by leopards, humans, and chimpanzees.

What we love about this story, aside from a new monkey, is that there are still fairly large mammals (and terrifyingly large spiders) we've yet to document--who knows what else is out there? [via CNN]

17 Comments

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fletch
09/13/12 at 11:45 am

This is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen.
Actually in stitches, with tears in my eyes writing this!

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Robot
09/13/12 at 11:52 am

I vote for this guy for President. He has honest eyes! ;)

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Robot
09/13/12 at 12:34 pm

Mmm, I get the impression from this Monkeys placid expression, he is not too concerned about December 21st or he does know the world is going to end and there isn't a Monkey do do we can do about it.

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gizmowiz
09/13/12 at 1:27 pm

Instead of wasting billions on tracking down life on dead planets like Mars, NASA should be focusing on mother Earth--down to the depths and thru the wild forests. In this way we can improve life here on Earth instead of just a fat life for fat NASA cats.

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diggory.venn
09/13/12 at 1:52 pm

I think maybe you don't understand what the National Aeronautics and Space Administration does.

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danneu8
09/13/12 at 3:55 pm

I can't tell if gizmowiz is serious or just trolling. People aren't that uninformed are they?

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iclarkcosta
09/13/12 at 5:23 pm

First of all, keep him out of the light, he hates bright light, especially sunlight, it'll kill him. Second, don't give him any water, not even to drink. But the most important rule, the rule you can never forget, no matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight.

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wilderside
09/13/12 at 5:40 pm

Honest eyes. Yes, I see that.

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African Rover
09/13/12 at 5:54 pm

That is my next door neighbour, don't make fun of him. He is really quite a cool dude.

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Robot
09/13/12 at 6:13 pm

wilderside,
You just create a profile for this. Cute and funny icon. Well done sir, ROFL, ha ha!

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Robot
09/13/12 at 6:45 pm

D'oh!

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wilderside
09/13/12 at 7:01 pm

African Rover,
NOT making fun. I respect the man and am a big fan. GW used his expressive eyes to his advantage, much to the delight of fans. Saw that the gaze of this particular new primate had a similar sad ennui as many of GW's brilliant characters ("Wicktor Fronkenschteen", WWonka, etc.), that's all.

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delkomaticreturns
09/13/12 at 8:18 pm

So this monkey looks EXACTLY like what that lady drew on that really famous painting you know the one. The one where the old lady "restored" it here self....maybe she was being haunted by one of these guys.

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Pichenda
09/14/12 at 5:43 am

On one of the article about the President "Fearless Dominance" trait, this troll gizmowiz compared Obama to Hitler. This speak volumes about gizmowiz background and his circle.

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Robot
09/14/12 at 7:53 am

Pichenda,
Hey buddy, I hear Walmart is selling a clue, if you need to buy one. Your comment has zip-de-do-da with this article. Take care.;)

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quasi44
09/14/12 at 7:49 pm

DON'T bring it to the Pacific Northwest! People shoot at Bigfoot impersonators here. This monkey would be coon bait.

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quasi44
09/14/12 at 7:54 pm

On Topic: So what are the functional characteristics of this monkey? Does it use tools? Are it's food processing capabilities comparable to other monkeys? Are social structures comparable? Is it omnivore? If these are well known to hunters, this info is all pretty basic.



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