Kolkata: Scientists at the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have described a new species of macaque from western Arunachal Pradesh, which is genetically different from the other species of monkeys reported from this region.
"We have named it as 'Sela macaque' (Macaca selai) with the name being derived from a local tribal woman 'Sela'. The 'Sela pass' is named after her who supported Indian soldiers during the attack and invasion by the Chinese army in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. To give respect to the brave local girl — Sela, we chose her name for the newly defined macaque species, which is also a phylogenetic divergent of the Arunachal macaque. We found that the Sela pass acted as a barrier by restricting the migration of individuals for approximately two million years," Mukesh Thakur, ZSI scientist and the lead author of the study said.
Avijit Ghosh, who is studying PhD on Arunachal macaque and also the first author of
the study initially intended to explore Arunachal macaques' wild population to understand genetic insights and stumbled upon this very new species.
The collection of a few samples followed by a detailed phylogenetic analysis has revealed that the Sela macaque is genetically closer to the Arunachal macaque and there are many physical characteristics similar between these two species like a heavy-build shape and long dorsal body hair. "We have identified some distinct morphological characters to differentiate them. Notable among them is the fact that the Arunachal macaque has a dark face and dark brown coat colour while the Sela macaque has a pale face and brown coat colour. Distinct behaviours among troops that are common in both species –some troops are habituated to human presence while others avoid human proximity have also been observed," Thakur said.
"We hope the present study will serve as a reference for future conservation and population studies of these species and open-up opportunities to test the consistency of the identified barrier, Sela mountain pass on speciation across various taxa. This study has also set up the scope for studying genome-wide variations in Arunachal macaques to understand how local adaption and natural selection of genes work throughout the process of speciation," Dhriti Banerjee, director, ZSI, said.
According to villagers, the Sela macaque is a major cause of crop loss in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The Arunachal Macaque is an endangered and recently discovered cercopithecine primate from Western Arunachal Pradesh.
This study is already published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.