White-cheeked Macaque
In Photo: A three-month old white-cheeked gibbon looks from inside a cage after Thai police arrested a citizen of the United Arab Emirates at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok May 13, 2011. Thai police arrested a UAE citizen just after midnight today as he was preparing to fly first class from Bangkok to Dubai with various rare and endangered animals in his suitcases, which included four leopards, one Malayan sun bear, one white-cheeked gibbon, one black-tufted marmoset, an Asiatic black bear and two macaque monkeys. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Scientists have discovered a new species of white-cheeked macaque — Macacaleucogenys — in the southeastern Tibet. The shape of its penis makes the species distinct from its four other types of counterparts found in the same area.

What led scientists regard Macacaleucogenys as a separate species in the Tibetan state of Modog was the unusual shape of its penis. While other white-cheeked macaques have a spear-shaped penis with white scrotum, this newly discovered species of macaque has rounded penis and dark hairy scrotum. In addition, the new species has bulky and long hair around its neck.

Chao Zhao and his team from the Institute of Himalaya Biodiversity Research at the Dali University in China has reportedly clicked over 700 pictures of the macaques. The pictures were then used by them to compare the new species with their other four counterparts known in the area.

The researchers believe that the discovery has raised that possibility of discovering more such new species in the area. According to them, there has not been much research in the area under the Tibetan state of Modog, a fact that adds on to the researcher's vision of discovering new wildlife species of fauna and flora in Modog.

"The forest in Modog is like a nature library, and we know very little about it. Discovery of the new macaque species suggests that there may be some species that still remain undiscovered in this area," said researcher Chao Zhao, reported AsianTribune.com.

Even though the newly discovered species of macaque stands apart from the rest of the species in its physical attributes, anthropologists from the University of Toronto say that the pictures are not enough to prove that the macaques form an entirely different species. According to them, DNA verification of the ape will identify whether it is different from the other macaques or not.

The discovery has been reported in the American Journal of Primatology.

To report a problem or to leave a feedback on the article, send an e-mail to emailtoguneet@gmail.com.

RELATED STORIES