Detecting venomous monkeys in Southeast Asia

Small venom monkeys are one of three new primates that scientists have found in rainforests on Borneo.

The coolie in the picture is a member of
Nycticebus kayan species. (Photo: Livescience)

Monkeys with poison in the mouth, called Nycticebus kayan , live on highlands in the island of Borneo. They belong to the family of loris (or gorilla), which includes species of bent-nose primates that are related to lemurs. Rachel Munds, a scientist from Missouri Columbia University, and two colleagues discovered them. They also found that the two subspecies of Nycticebus are actually two separate species of loris, Livescience reported.

"Until now, many species have not been recognized because scientists mistakenly think they belong to another species," Munds said.

Liol is distributed in Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, Yunnan province of China, Borneo island. Munds' group recognized Nycticebus kayan as a new species by observing their facial features - such as the dark hair band around their eyes. Their body length is about 27cm, and their weight is about 400g.

The discovery of Nycticebus monkey kayan and two other species of loris show the level of biodiversity of Borneo - the island is under the management of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. However, the team is concerned that, like other species on the island of Borneo, primates that they have found are facing the danger of extinction by trade in ornamental animals.