Tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis weddelli)Scientists found in the Amazon forest a new small specie of ape, whose habitat is threatened by building projects now. The discovery of the 23 cm long and only 213 gram heavy little monkey was published by the Wildlife Conversation Society (WCS) in New York in the International Journal of Primatology by the authors Fábio Rohe, José de Sousa e Silva Jr, Ricardo Sampaio and Anthony Rylands.
New plant and insect species can still be found, coming across with new mammal species however is getting more and more difficult, explained enthusiastically Avecita Chicchón, director of the WCS for Latin America and the Caribbean. The discovered monkey is a kind of Weddell's Saddle-back Tamarin (Saguinus fuscicollis weddelli) with grey and brown skin, darkly spotted back and long tail. The Tamarin received the name Mura as a reminiscent of an Indian tribe who lives in the same region - between the rivers Purus and Madeira. In the region several development projects are executed at present, among them the construction of a road straight through the 7 million square kilometer of the Amazon forest. There already started the building of two hydro-electric power plants and in addition a gas line is being projected. All of this does not only threat the environment, but also humans and animals of the region like the newly-discovered Mura. The building projects won’t be stopped, but the find shows according to Chicchón, how important it is to continue to study and document the Amazonian biodiversity.