As a perfect example that we don"t, by far, know every creature on the planet yet, a discovery of a new species has been made in Congo, of a kind of
apes that stands 2 meters (6"6") tall and has features of both chimpansee and gorilla.
news.bbc.co.uk
Scientists believe they have discovered a new group of giant apes in the jungles of central Africa.
The animals, with characteristics of both gorillas and chimpanzees, have been sighted in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to local villagers, the apes are ferocious, and even capable of killing lions.
The UK magazine New Scientist is to publish its report about the mysterious creatures next week.
If they are a new species of primate, it could be one of the most important wildlife discoveries in decades.
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There are three controversial possibilities to explain the origin of the mystery apes:
- They are a new species of ape
- They are giant chimpanzees, much larger than any so far recorded, but behave like gorillas
- They could be hybrids, the product of gorillas mating with chimpanzees.
So now the question remains, wich is it? A brand new species, a unknown chimp species or hybrids? All 3 posiblities have incredible importance.
If the species is an old undiscovered one, it shows that there are big animals out there we haven"t layed eyes on yet, that go undiscovered for so
long.
If its a hybrid, it kinda proves some parts of human evolution, as its also thought that man is a hybrid of 2 kinds of pre homosapiens species.
If its a large kind of chimps that act like gorilla"s, it also proves some parts of evolution, where branches of 1 species can form a brand new one
with its own unique features and specialisations.
Lets hope africa stabilizes and more and more discoveries like this are made in the years to come. Maybe our "missing" link is found somewere, maybe
we will find things we wouldn"t dare to have dreamed of before. Like some people say there might be dinosaurs still living in africa,