Another dwarf monkey species discovered

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 19: A Dutch scientist has discovered the second smallest monkey species in the Brazilian rain forest, a scientific plum that was literally handed to him.

A local man showed up on the doorstep of Dr Marc Van Roosmalen8217;s private orphanage in Manaus, 2,900 km northwest of the capital, in April 1996 carrying a can containing a tiny monkey. It was mouse-sized 10cms and greenish-grey, with a white fringe around its face, a black crown and a black tail.

8220;As soon as I saw it, I knew it was something new. But I couldn8217;t show my excitement because if the guy knew he had something valuable, he might have kept it,8221; Roosmalen said. Finding the black-headed 8220;sagui dwarf8221;, as Roosmalen dubbed it, was the easy part. To prove it was a new species, Roosmalen needed to find a few more of them.