New species of monkey just discovered in Amazon could be made extinct by raging fires

Fires now burning through range of marmoset found in only one corner of Brazilian state

A view of a fire in Pará state, Brazil, last month - the state is the only known habitat of a new species of marmoset monkey (AFP/Getty)

A completely new species of marmoset monkey that was discovered just weeks ago, is now believed to be at significant risk due to the fires which continue to burn through the Amazon rainforest.

The Mico munduruku marmoset is unusual because of its white tail and hands. Typically the creature has black tails.

It is only believed to live within an area approximately 55,000 sq km (21,200 sq miles) within Pará State in Brazil's southwest.

The creature was discovered in August by Rodrigo Costa Araújo and his colleagues at the National Institute of Amazonian Research and the Federal University of Amazonas in Brazil.

Now they fear the fires which are continuing to rage in the area are a direct threat to the new species’ survival.

The catastrophic blazes have devastated the landscape on an unprecedented scale. Combined with illegal logging, agricultural expansion and new energy and infrastructure projects, the natural habitat of countless creatures is rapidly being permanently destroyed.

In some cases the accelerated destruction is taking place just as we are becoming aware of what we are losing.

One fire runs directly through the newly-found marmoset’s range, Mr Araújo told charity Flora & Fauna International, citing Nasa satellite data.

“Once these forests are gone, the marmosets will be gone too," he said. "And this year’s fires are burning much more habitat of all southern Amazonian marmosets than in past years.”

Mr Araújo added the setting of the fires which have swept through swathes of the Brazillian Amazon this year was “politically motivated”.

He said this was not a year of reduced rainfall and drier conditions which increase fire risks.

The prices of soy crops and beef had not drastically risen to prompt farmers to clear more agricultural land, he added.

“The obvious conclusion is that the 2019 fires are politically motivated, with farmers supporting the agenda of the president against environment and biodiversity conservation. And the president is in turn supporting these people on the ground," he said.

He said Brazil's right wing president Jair Bolsonaro had "been systematically dismantling the country’s framework for monitoring and preventing deforestation, cutting the budget of the national environment agency, refusing absolutely vital international support … and proposing the relaxation of environmental

However, he added that the discovery of the new marmoset could have a positive impact by causing a review to be held into the construction of major hydroelectric power plants, which are all within the species’ range.

He said: “This region has hardly been studied and its biodiversity is poorly known, so having a new primate species described from there clearly demonstrates that we are destroying the habitat of many other, still undiscovered species.”