A new monkey species believed to be endangered, has been discovered in Mabira forest reserve in Mukono. According to a report by Prof. Colin Groves of the Australian National University, the monkey species is now one of the 19 primate species in Uganda.

He said the primate, known as the gray-cheeked mangabey (scientific name Lophocebus albigena) was being upgraded to a new class to be called Lophocebus ugandae .

Groves revealed that when he revised the research he undertook three decades ago, he discovered that the Uganda monkeys were much smaller than similar ones in other parts of the world. “It was really striking,” he said.

The species is dramatically smaller than the true Lophocebus albigena and the new methods of analysis have made it more obvious, according to Groves.

For more of this article by Gerald Tenywa, see the New Vision Online.

Colin Groves was on the board of directors of the defunct International Society of Cryptozoology.