In 2017, in Borneo, Malaysia, people were surprised to find a "mysterious monkey". It has a large spherical nose, but this large spherical snout is neither black nor pink, but gray, and it has a gray face. These special physical features have attracted the attention of scientists. Five years later, scientists finally discovered the bizarre origin of this "mysterious monkey", but this caused them new shocks and worries.
"Mysterious Monkey"
In 2017, scientists simply speculated that this might be a new species, but it was not officially confirmed at the time. Just five years later, in a new study, the mystery of the species was finally revealed. This "mysterious monkey" turned out to be a hybrid offspring of a proboscis monkey and a silver langur!
(Left) is the silver langur monkey (center) is the "mysterious monkey" (right) is the proboscis monkey
According to the "Newsweek" report on May 5, scientists have conducted a long investigation into this "mysterious monkey" in Borneo. During the investigation, they collected photos of the "mysterious monkey" in the forest and analyzed them based on these photos to determine its origin. Surprisingly, more exceptional cases have also been discovered. These special circumstances have aroused a strong desire of scientists to explore, and they have launched a series of professional investigations.
They first looked for possible parents through appearance characteristics, and then deduced through the combination of gene sequences, and finally figured out that it was a hybrid offspring of proboscis monkeys and silver langur monkeys. By comparing the two species, the scientists found that although the proboscis monkey and the silver langur lived in the same ecological environment, they had many different traits. They are even different genera. From the outside alone, it's very different.
Proboscis monkeys are large, generally up to 76 cm long, with an average weight of up to 20-24 kg, and they have pink cheeks and a large nose. The biggest difference between them and other monkeys is that the nose of adult male monkeys will grow larger and larger with age, and eventually reach 7 to 8 centimeters. The slightly larger nose of the "mysterious monkey" may be inherited from the proboscis monkey.
On the other hand, the silver langur is black all over, the size is small, the body is generally 56 cm long, the weight is about 6 kg, and it has a small nose. The face is darker, the hair on the top of the head is upright, and the big gray face of the "mysterious monkey" may come from it.
From the relevant papers issued by scientists, we can also understand that when this "mysterious monkey" was first known, it was only the size of a baby, and people were only surprised by its appearance. But who would have thought that in a photo taken 5 years later, this "mysterious monkey" has grown up.
Moreover, the more significant discovery was that it was taking care of the little monkey in its arms at this time, and the breast was swollen, which fully indicated that it was breastfeeding. This is also the mystery of this "mysterious monkey" - the hybrid breed is fertile!
Reproductive isolation failed?
The hybrid offspring of proboscis monkeys and silver langurs can procreate, does this mean that there is no reproductive isolation between the two organisms?
Reproductive isolation is the law of reproduction in nature, which simply means that if different species mate with each other, the offspring they produce are either sterile or unable to survive. For example, the mule we know as a mule is a hybrid offspring of horses and donkeys, while mules are sterile.
Therefore, the existence of the "mysterious monkey" did not cause much fluctuation, and what really shocked scientists was that the "mysterious monkey" could breed offspring. Does this phenomenon mean that there is no reproductive isolation between proboscis monkeys and silver langurs? The answer is definitely no, there is reproductive isolation between proboscis monkeys and silver langurs. Because their living environments do not intersect, there has never been an event of mating with each other.
Why do they meet and reproduce later, and the offspring are fertile? This may be because they are physiologically capable of mating and reproducing, but geographical factors do not come and go, but the geographical separation time is too short to allow them to produce reproductive isolation, so they can produce healthy hybrid offspring, and the offspring can reproduce normally. However, the "mysterious monkey" can be fertilized as a hybrid offspring, after all, it is only an isolated case.
According to the success stories of other hybrid organisms, the survival rate of hybrid offspring is quite low. For example, the lion tiger, which is a hybrid offspring of tigers and lions, has found that even under the high-quality conditions of artificial breeding, the survival rate of lions and tigers is only one percent, and most of them are still unable to survive. In the case of artificial breeding, the ability to survive is still so, we can't imagine what will happen in nature? It can be seen that it is not easy for the "mysterious monkey" to be able to reproduce and the offspring can survive normally in nature.
So, does this one example show that the mechanism of reproductive isolation is extremely easy to break?
Although the first "mysterious monkey" has successfully given birth to another "mysterious monkey", which kind of monkey is its mate, will it be just a special situation? Will other "mysterious monkeys" in the future be equally fertile? No one can make a definitive conclusion. After all, the number of observable "mysterious monkeys" is too small. What we need to do now is not to doubt reproductive isolation mechanisms, but to look for clues as to the real reasons that force mating between different species.
From nothing intersecting, why did they eventually come together to give birth to offspring?
Since there is reproductive isolation, why do two different species of organisms cross species, come together, and mate and reproduce the rare species of "mysterious monkey"? We started with the living habits of proboscis monkeys and silver langurs and found that both male proboscis monkeys and silver langurs leave their parents during puberty, go out to court their own to mate, and generally do so in the habitats of their own races.
However, with the changes in the natural environment and the surge of human activities, the living space of living organisms has been greatly squeezed out. So in order to survive, various creatures began to migrate continuously, looking for new habitats. Because the living habits of the two organisms are similar, it is possible to find the same habitat at the same time when they are looking for new habitats. Over time, mating will naturally occur, and there is a magical species of "mysterious monkey" by chance. Therefore, the hybridization phenomenon between proboscis monkeys and silver langurs is due to the destruction of the living environment.
So, what impact will the emergence of new monkey species have on the local ecology?
Assuming that the new monkey breed of "mysterious monkey" can indeed break the reproductive isolation mechanism and continue to reproduce, it may have many frightening consequences. Most seriously, it will cause a small extinction of proboscis monkeys and silver langur monkeys, resulting in a sharp decline in biodiversity.
On the one hand, male proboscis monkeys are superior to male silver langurs in size and strength, and they will use their advantages to expel male silver langurs and dominate more female monkeys. In the long run, the silver langur population will not be able to reproduce and will go extinct.
On the other hand, as most proboscis monkeys mate with silver langurs, and the survival rate of "mysterious monkeys" is low, proboscis monkeys will also die out.
Of course, we don't have to worry too much. In real life, most of the hybrid offspring cannot break the reproductive isolation mechanism. At the same time, human beings should also reflect on themselves. The "mysterious monkey" incident is reminding us that the ecosystem has begun to be unbalanced, with human factors dominating. It is because a large number of human activities have squeezed out the habitat of living organisms, which has led to cross-species hybridization. If this imbalance is not controlled, one day, the reproductive isolation mechanism will fail, and the consequences will be unimaginable!