India, July 17 -- Scientists have categorised a rare, orange-mouthed monkey from Africa as a new species after it was first spotted almost two decades ago.

Named as Colobus congoensis and known locally as the 'Likweli', the primate is only the fifth such discovery from Africa in 75 years.

The monkey was identified in the remote interfluve (between rivers) region between the Lomami and Congo (Lualaba) rivers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2008. But scientists dug deeper only in 2018 when it was spotted again by a team of researchers. They followed this up by collecting more evidence to declare it as an entirely new species.

The first hint of its existence came in 2008, when researchers captured a partial blur photograph of...