# New species discovered

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-discovered/304170>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 17, 2005, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-discovered/304170 "2005-05-17T00:42:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-discovered/304170/21 "2005-05-19T21:04:59Z")

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> [@micco](#):
>
> According to this [news item](http://www.reuters.co.za/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp;:428c9c00:2a20e572ce641f46?type=topNews&localeKey=en_ZA&storyID=8545213), two teams have just discovered a new species of monkey in Tanzania.

That’s very impressive, but according to the report it is a monkey, not an ape.

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**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-discovered/304170/22 "2005-05-19T22:27:55Z")

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> [@Giles](#):
>
> That’s very impressive, but according to the report it is a monkey, not an ape.

Which is why I said “new species of monkey”. I wasn’t trying to refute your claim about apes, especially since I think this news was released after your post. I was simply adding to the dialog in context.

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-discovered/304170/23 "2005-05-20T00:12:51Z")

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> [@Lightnin'](#):
>
> Rodents are boring.

Yeah, but small mammals made it through the great extinction, and dinos are toast!  
🙂

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-species-discovered/304170/24 "2005-05-23T03:11:21Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Orders and families are also relatively rare additions, but not as rare as phyla and kingdoms. Then we get down to genus and species, which we probably add to daily. Discovering a new family is big, but not likely-to-change-the-overall-classification-system big.

You skipped over “class”. If I remember my high school biology correctly and those taxonomists haven’t since changed things around to confuse me (both big ifs), the ginko tree is considered to be the only living species in its class (and therefore also in its order, family, and genus), and the tuatara is considered to be the only species in its order (and therefore also in its family and genus). I don’t know when either of these was discovered/classified, though.

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