The monkey is brown, with a long, erect crest of hair on its head, elongated cheek whiskers, an off-white belly and tail. It stands about 90cm and can live as high as 2,450m, where temperatures often drop below freezing. Researchers estimate that only 500 such monkeys might remain in the wild.
Discovered last year by scientists with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other groups, but the monkey’s discovery has also shown that its high altitude home is "severely threatened by logging", according to WCS researcher Tim Davenport.
"It would be the ultimate irony to lose a species this unique so soon after we have discovered it," primatologist John G Robinson, a director of WCS's International Programs, said in the Science article. "This is a world treasure and as such, we urge the world community to protect it," Mr Robinson added.
DNA research on the monkey revealed the species is "truly unique", marking the first new genus for a living monkey species in 83 years, the previous discovery being Allen's swamp monkey in 1923.
The new genus, Rungwecebus (pronounced rung-way-CEE-bus), refers to Mount Rungwe where the monkey was first seen. It is known locally as "kipunji."