A new species of titi monkey, named the ‘Urubamba brown titi monkey’ by the scientists who found it, has been discovered in South America.
Researchers at Proyecto Mono Tocon, a project which works to save the San Martin titi monkey found this species roaming the forests along the Urubamba River in Peru which is where the name comes from.
The discovery was announced this week by Blackpool Zoo who has provided £30,000 to support the project over the past seven years. Blackpool zoo managing director, Darren Webster said, “We were thrilled to hear the exciting news about the discovery of the Urubamba brown titi monkey, it’s great that our money is making a real impact to the conservation of titi monkeys and it is a huge reward for the efforts of the project’s team.”
Urubamba brown titi monkeys are brown with a jet black face. Each morning the forest comes to life with their call. Of course little is known about them and Blackpool Zoo will continue to support the cause to discover more as Webster explained, “We will continue to support this vital cause and we are all looking forward to hearing updates about the new species.”
Unfortunately monkey’s the world over are facing extinction and this is the same for the San Martin titi monkey as Webster explained, “Numbers of the San Martin titi monkey have declined dramatically over the years due to high deforestation rates as well as the illegal Peruvian pet trade.”
At Blackpool Zoo they manage the breeding program for the red titi monkey.
In total there are currently around 20 titi species known to science. These unique monkeys are one only two primate groups which are known to form monogamous pairs.
Photo Credit: Blackpool Zoo
