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[Josh Greenman <joshg1973 AT yahoo.com>]

http://www2.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/wcs-nmd121504.php

New monkey discovered in Northeastern India

21st century rarity occurs in world's second most populous country
 A species of monkey previously unknown to science has been discovered in
the remote northeastern region of India, according to the New York-based
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Named after the Indian state of
Arunachal Pradesh where it was found, the Arunachal macaque---a relatively
large brown primate with a comparatively short tail---is described in a
forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Primatology. The last
species of macaque to be discovered in the wild, the Indonesian Pagai
macaque, was described in 1903.

 "This new species comes from a biologically rich area that is perhaps
India's last unknown frontier," said WCS conservation scientist Dr. M. D.
Madhusudan, who was part of the discovery team that included WCS, the Nature
Conservation Foundation (NCF), and its associates. "The discovery of a new
species of monkey is quite rare. What is also remarkable about our discovery
is that few would have thought that with over a billion people and
retreating wild lands, a new large mammal species would ever be found in
India, of all places."

 The new species of macaque was photographed during expeditions in 2003 and
2004 made by Indian researchers from WCS, NCF, the International Snow
Leopard Trust, and the National Institute of Advanced Studies. The Arunachal
macaque (Macaca munzala) is the latest addition to the macaque family, a
group with some 20 different species occurring mainly in Asia across a
variety of different habitats. The new species is also one of the
highest-dwelling primates in the world, occurring between 1600 and 3500
meters about sea level.

 Although the monkey is new to science, the animal is well known to the
residents of the Himalayan districts of Tawang and West Kameng, where the
species occurs. The monkey's species name, mun zala, means "deep-forest
monkey" in the vernacular of the Dirang Monpa people.

 The status of the monkey is not yet fully known. While the predominantly
Buddhist people of Tawang and West Kameng do not hunt the macaques for food
or sport, they do kill monkeys in retaliation for crop raiding. Further
studies will determine whether the Arunachal macaque should be included on
the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and
Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

 Recent expeditions into Arunachal Pradesh by WCS's Indian partners have
also reported the leaf deer, the black barking deer, and the Chinese goral,
all species that were previously unknown from India. On the strength of one
such expedition into western Arunachal Pradesh in 2003, the state government
has now created a new protected area--the Tsangyang Gyatso Biosphere
Reserve.

 Madhusudan added: "This region of Arunachal Pradesh, with its rugged
mountains and extensive forest cover is truly one of India's last wild
places, one that merits protection at both regional and international
levels."

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