Skip to the content New species of primate in mountains of
Myanmar already threatened with extinction Fauna & Flora
International (FFI) was part of a team of primatologists that
has discovered a new species of monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri in
Northern Myanmar (formerly Burma). Field research was led by
Ngwe Lwin from the Myanmar Biodiversity and Nature Conservation
Association (BANCA) and supported by an international team of
primatologists from FFI and the People Resources and
Conservation Foundation (PRCF). The species has been named
‘Rhinopithecus strykeri’ in honour of Jon Stryker, President and
Founder of the Arcus Foundation who supported the project.
However, in local dialects it is called mey nwoah, ‘monkey with
an upturned face.’ The team discovered the new species, also
called the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey, as part of the nationwide
Myanmar Primate Conservation Program in early 2010. Hunters
reported the presence of a monkey species with prominent lips
and wide upturned nostrils, which did not fit t