SPECIES OF THE MONTH: NOVEMBER

MYANMAR SNUB-NOSED MONKEY

Phylum  : Chordata
Class     : Mammalia
Order    : Primates
Family   : Cercopithecidae
Genus    : Rhinopithecus
Species  : Rhinopithecus strykeri

An international team of primatologists have discovered a new species
of monkey in Northern Myanmar (formerly Burma.) The research,
published in the American Journal of Primatology, reveals how
Rhinopithecus Strykeri, a species of snub-nosed monkey, has an
upturned nose which causes it to sneeze when it rains.

Field biologists led by Ngwe Lwin from the Myanmar Biodiversity And
Nature Conservation Association and supported by an international team
of primatologists from Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the
People Resources and Biodiversity Foundation, discovered the new
species during the nationwide Hoolock Gibbon Status Review in early
2010. Hunters reported the presence of a monkey species with prominent
lips and wide upturned nostrils.

Sightings were reported from the eastern Himalayas to the northeastern
Kachin state leading the team to conduct field surveys which led to
the discovery of a small population of a new species which displays
characteristics unlike any other snub-nosed species previously
described.

Thomas Geissmann, who is leading the taxonomic description, describes
the monkey as having almost entirely blackish fur with white fur only
on ear tufts, chin beard and perineal area. It also has a relatively
long tail, approximately 140% of its body size.

The species has been named Rhinopithecus Strykeri in honour of Jon
Stryker, President and Founder of the Arcus Foundation who supported
the project. However, in local dialects it is called mey nwoah,
‘monkey with an upturned face.’

While the species is new to science the local people know it well and
claim that it is very easy to find when it is raining because the
monkeys often get rainwater in their upturned noses causing them to
sneeze. To avoid getting rainwater in their noses they spend rainy
days sitting with their heads tucked between their knees

Frank Momberg, FFI’s Regional Programme Development Coordinator, Asia
Pacific, who interviewed local hunters during the field surveys
suggests that the species is limited to the Maw River area. The
distribution area is believed to be 270 km (squared) with an
approximate population of 260-330 individuals, meaning that it is
classified as Critically Endangered by IUCN.

As this new species of snub-nosed monkey inhabits the Kachin State in
northeastern Myanmar it is geographically isolated from other species
by two major barriers, the Mekong and the Salween Rivers, which may
explain why the species has not been discovered earlier.

According to local hunters the monkeys spend the summer months,
between May and October, at higher altitudes in mixed temperate
forests. In winter they descend closer to villages when snowfall makes
food scarcer.

Species of snub-nosed monkeys are found in parts of China and Vietnam.
Presently all species are considered endangered. Until now no species
have been reported in Myanmar. However, this latest addition to the
snub-nosed family is already critically endangered due to increasing
hunting pressure resulting from the building of logging roads by
Chinese companies beginning to invade the previously isolated
distribution area of this newly discovered monkey.

Mark Rose, Chief Executive of Fauna & Flora International said, “We
are committed to taking immediate conservation action to safeguard the
survival of this important new species together with our partners and
local communities in Myanmar.”

About the Journal: The American Journal of Primatology is the official
journal of the American Society of Primatologists. The Journal aims to
provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and findings among
primatologists and to convey our increasing understanding of this
order of animals to specialists and interested readers. Primatology is
an unusual science as its practitioners work in a wide variety of
departments and institutions throughout the world, carrying out a vast
range of research procedures. The journal aims to reflect this
diversity of research

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1098-2345

While there are currently no images of living specimens of this new
species available Fauna & Flora International has commissioned the
attached artists impression of the new species in its habitat, based
on field sightings and a carcass of the newly discovered species. The
image should be credited to Martin Aveling/Fauna & Flora
International.

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Full bibliographic information

Geissmann. T, Lwin. G, Aung. S, Naing Aung. T, Aung. Z
M, Hla. T, Grindley. M, Momber. F, “A new species of Snub-nosed
monkey, Genus Rhinopithecus Milne-Edwards, 1872 (Primates,
Colobianae), From Northern Kachin State, Northeastern Myanmar”,
American Journal of Primatology, Wiley-Blackwell, October 2010, DOI:
10.1002/ajp.20894

This paper is published in the American Journal of Primatology. To
request a copy contact Lifesciencenews@wiley.com or +44
(0) 1243 770 375

News Source Courtesy: http://www.alphagalileo.org/