Welcome, Likweli: Meet Africa's Newest Monkey Species
Thursday, 16 July 2026
Colobus congoensis lives in the Congo Basin rainforest. It has black hair and orange-cream lips (it's this that makes it stand out, if anything). It also has high cheekbones and sticky-out ears with distinctive notches. And now it's officially a new species. The discovery was formally published in the journal PLOS One on 15 July 2026, following almost two decades of detective work by primatologists. It is only the fifth new African monkey species to be recognised in the past 75 years.
The monkey was first photographed in 2008 in the remote
forests of Lomami National Park, but the image was too indistinct to prove it
was anything new. A second sighting in 2018 prompted a dedicated four-year
study, during which researchers recorded 114 sightings, analysed its DNA,
anatomy and distinctive roaring calls, and confirmed that it had been evolving
separately from its closest relatives for millions of years.
And its closest relative? Well, it isn't particularly close
geographically. Genetic evidence suggests it is most closely related to the
Black Colobus (Colobus satanas) of west-central Africa. The two species
are separated by more than 1,200 kilometres of rainforest, implying they
diverged around 4–5 million years ago.
Of course, we can't really say it has been discovered. The
people living near its habitat in the Congo Basin have known about it for
generations. They call it Likweli. Researchers found that only a handful of
local communities recognised the monkey, which says something about how
restricted its range appears to be—and perhaps that it prefers to keep well
away from us. Likweli has now been adopted as its common name, although the
meaning of the word has not been published. Then again, ask most English
speakers why a fox is called a fox, and you'll probably get little more than a
shrug.
Watch this video by Florida Atlantic University to learn more about the research that went into recognising the Likewli as a new species of monkey.
Give a Gift
If you enjoyed this article, please consider making a gift to help Ark In Space to continue to bring you fascinating features, photographs and videos.
Thank you!