Deep in the jungles of Myanmar, scientists have discovered a new species of monkey in an unfortunate predicament: Its nostrils are turned upward, so that whenever it rains, they fill up with water and cause the monkey to sneeze.
The black, furry creature lives around the Maw River in the Southeast Asian country's northeast corner. It has white tufts of fur on its ears and a white beard on its chin. Scientists have named the new species Rhinopithecus strykeri, but locals know it as monkey with an upturned face in their language.
Foreign primatologists joined local conservationists searching for the rare monkey after hunters reported seeing an animal with prominent lips and wide, upturned nostrils -- a description not known for any other animal.
While the species is new to science, the local people know it well and claim that it is very easy to find when it is raining because the monkeys often get rainwater in their upturned noses, causing them to sneeze, a spokeswoman for Fauna & Flora International, a British-based charity that helped discover the monkey, told the Cambridge News. To avoid this, they spend rainy days sitting with their heads tucked between their knees.
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/new-species-of-sneezing-monkey-found-in-asia/19691137
The black, furry creature lives around the Maw River in the Southeast Asian country's northeast corner. It has white tufts of fur on its ears and a white beard on its chin. Scientists have named the new species Rhinopithecus strykeri, but locals know it as monkey with an upturned face in their language.
Foreign primatologists joined local conservationists searching for the rare monkey after hunters reported seeing an animal with prominent lips and wide, upturned nostrils -- a description not known for any other animal.
While the species is new to science, the local people know it well and claim that it is very easy to find when it is raining because the monkeys often get rainwater in their upturned noses, causing them to sneeze, a spokeswoman for Fauna & Flora International, a British-based charity that helped discover the monkey, told the Cambridge News. To avoid this, they spend rainy days sitting with their heads tucked between their knees.
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/new-species-of-sneezing-monkey-found-in-asia/19691137
