By Forrest Riverstone | Field Dispatches · Udzungwa Mountains Biodiversity Project Published: June 18, 2026
Paper: Kavalo, A., Mseru, N. & Holloway, E. R. (in press). A new bioluminescent primate genus and species (Primates: Cercopithecidae) of the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. Zootaxa. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20025918
Sequences: GenBank PQ838301–PQ838312
Quick update
I’ve been in loose contact with one of the collaborators on the project since my original post, and they mentioned the sequence data have now been deposited. The NCBI nucleotide record PQ838301.1 contains the holotype cytochrome b sequence for Cyanopithecus scintillans from the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. The full set of accessions (PQ838301–PQ838312) covers five loci — cytochrome b, COI, RAG1, IRBP, and vWF — across the three type specimens.
Molecular check
I pulled PQ838301 into a quick alignment with other cercopithecine cytb sequences and the placement near Miopithecusis consistent with what the paper reports. The ~14.8% uncorrected distance from Miopithecus is high for sister taxa but not unprecedented for cercopithecids with long independent histories.
Publication status
From what I understand, the Zootaxa proofs are done and it should be out in the next issue or two. The ZooBank registration will go live at that point as well.
Still an extraordinary claim, but the molecular side at least seems solid. Will update again once the official article page is up.
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