A new species of monkey with an upturned nose that causes it to sneeze when it rains has been found in northern Myanmar, conservationists said last week.
The animal is almost entirely black with white tufts on its ear and chin, according to the wildlife organization Fauna & Flora International (FFI), whose primatologists were involved in the discovery.
The monkeys “display characteristics unlike any other snub-nosed species previously described,” it said.
PHOTO: AFP/ DR.THOMAS GEISSMANN 照片：法新社／湯瑪斯‧蓋斯曼博士
Although the species is new to science, it is well known to locals who call it the “monkey with an upturned face.”
On rainy days they often sit with their heads tucked between their knees to avoid getting water in their upturned noses.
The monkeys are believed to spend the summer at higher altitudes in mixed temperate forests and descend closer to villages in winter when food in scarce.
Frank Momberg, FFI’s Asia Pacific regional program development coordinator, said interviews with local hunters suggested there were just 260-330 individuals, which would make it critically endangered.
The monkey inhabits an area in Kachin State that is geographically isolated from other species by the Mekong and the Salween rivers, which may explain why it has not been discovered earlier, FFI said.
Species of snub-nosed monkeys are found in parts of China and Vietnam and considered endangered. Conservationists say this is the first time species have been reported in Myanmar.
(AFP)
自然環境保護者上週表示，近日於緬甸北部發現一種新的猴子種類，由於鼻子朝著天空翻，所以下雨時會打噴嚏。
根據國際野生動植物保護協會組織參與此項發現的靈長目動物學家，這隻猴子全身幾乎都是黑色，只有下巴跟耳朵上有撮白色的毛。
該組織表示，「這種猴子的特徵，與其他先前描述的塌鼻種猴子完全不同。」
雖然科學家首次發現這類猴子，但是當地人早已對牠相當熟悉，並習慣叫牠「臉朝著天的猴子」。
下雨時，牠們經常將頭塞在雙膝間，以避免雨水流入朝著天的鼻孔。
據說這種猴子夏天會住在海拔高度較高，氣候溫和的森林，而冬天食物缺乏時，便移居山下村莊附近。
國際野生動植物保護協會組織亞太地區計畫發展協調員法蘭克‧蒙姆伯格表示，與當地獵人訪談的結果顯示，這種猴子只有兩百六十到三百三十隻之間，意即此類猴子的生存遭到嚴重威脅。
國際野生動植物保護協會組織表示，這種猴子住在克欽，由於地形的限制，使牠們與湄公河即薩爾溫江對岸的品種相隔，也因此沒有更早發現這個種類。
塌鼻類的猴子屬於瀕臨絕種的動物，分部於中國與越南。自然環境保護主義者表示，這是緬甸境內首次發現新品種。
（法新社／翻譯：吳岱璟）
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