Overview
- Researchers first photographed the unusual black colobus in 2008 and after renewed fieldwork formally described it as a new species in a PLOS One paper published Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
- Systematic surveys from 2018 to 2022 recorded just 114 sightings and mapped an estimated range of about 1,700 square kilometers, a far smaller distribution than is typical for colobus monkeys.
- The team used genetic, anatomical and acoustic evidence to separate Colobus congoensis from other species and named distinctive traits such as a bright orange-cream facial mask, glossy black fur, a long curved tail and a smaller body mass of roughly seven kilograms.
- Authors report immediate threats from local hunting and habitat loss and recommend the species be listed as strongly endangered on the IUCN Red List to unlock protections and funding.
- The discovery highlights how remote parts of the Congo Basin still hide unknown mammals and raises biogeographic questions because the new species is genetically closest to the Black Colobus (Colobus satanas) despite more than 1,200 kilometers of forest separating their known ranges.