Kipunji
| Kipunji | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Subfamily: | Cercopithecinae |
| Tribe: | Papionini |
| Genus: | Rungwecebus Davenport, 2006 |
| Species: | R. kipunji
|
| Binomial name | |
| Rungwecebus kipunji (Jones et al., 2005)
| |
The kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji), also known as the highland mangabey, is a species of Old World monkey that lives in the highland forests of Tanzania. It was independently described in December 2003 and July 2004, making it the first new African monkey species discovered since 1984. Originally assigned to the genus Lophocebus, genetic and morphological data showed that it is more closely related to the genus Papio. It was subsequently assigned to a new genus, Rungwecebus, named after Mount Rungwe. Rungwecebus is the first new monkey genus described since 1923.