I just read an article on CNN about a monkey that they discovered in the Congo that has been identified as a brand new species.  Does that mean that the species didn’t exist a few years ago?  No, of course not… It’s just that this area of the planet has not been explored by scientists, so no one other than the “locals” new about them.

If you haven’t heard about this, click the link below.  If anything, just take a look at the picture to see how amazingly “human” this monkey’s eyes seem.  Then read below.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/africa/dr-congo-new-monkey/index.html

“Why the heck didn’t the locals tell anyone there was a brand new primate population in their backyard?” you might ask.

You look out the widow every day and see sparrows.  They are part of your everyday life.  You don’t have modern technology in your life.  You only communicate with the people around you… and they’ve all grown up with sparrows, too.  You have no idea that no one outside your village has never seen a sparrow.  (And maybe the sparrows fly away whenever one of those loud scary “car-things” drives into the village.)

It’s possible that there are TONS of species like this!  Can you imagine?

So, of course my demented mind started wondering.  Dragon and Mermaid lore came from SOMEWHERE.  Who’s to say that all those sailors were just drunk?  Who’s to say that dragons are not in the high uninhabited hills in China?

In one of my favorite movie lines ever:  “Just because you haven’t seen [a million dollars], doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

With the wonders of today’s technology, the idea that there are still species that “science” has yet to discover is extremely fascinating to me.

The truth is, that we DON’T know everything.  We HAVE NOT seen everything.  Isn’t that exciting?

Related articles

• New Species of Monkey Discovered (neatorama.com)
• New Monkey Species Found (newser.com)
• Incredibly Humanlike New Species of Blond Monkey Discovered in Congo (motherboard.vice.com)
• New Species Of Monkey With Unusual Coloring, ‘Human Like’ Eyes Found In Congo (ibtimes.com)
• Scientists ID new species of monkey in Congo (sacbee.com)
• Monkey, New To Science, Found In Central Africa – NPR (blog) (npr.org)
• New Monkey Species Discovered in Africa (sciencespacerobots.com)
• Scientists identify new, owl-faced monkey species living in the D.R. Congo (news.nationalpost.com)
• New Monkey Species Identified in Remote Region of Congo (e360.yale.edu)
• Scientists identify new species of monkey in Congo (ctvnews.ca)