This photograph of the newly identified species of monkey Cercopithecus lomamiensis thank God science still keeps the

e Latin language alive in its rules of nomenclature, although if you prefer the vernacular it's called the lesula is a heartbreakingly beautiful portrait. The face of this animal that was first observed by naturalists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2007 and has now been verified genetically as a distinct species, will surely ensure it instant celebrity status among the planet's best-loved creatures. It's adorable. Human hearts will go out to this rare African primate, already listed as "vulnerable" even as it first enters the annals of science Like us, monkeys have their eyes on the front of their faces. It is an arrangement that evolved to give the best view and distance-calculating abilities to animals that live by swinging and jumping from branch to branch high in the trees. We got our own frontfacing eyes, which make for such moving portraits, for the same reason, even though our ancestors eventually decided to come down from the trees. This lesula's eyes are rounder than ours yet somehow the positioning is incredibly "human", like looking in a magical mirror. A painting by El Greco compares a monkey's face with human visages to reveal their comparable character . Moist and almost tearful-looking, the lesula's eyes glisten with what looks like compassion and tenderness. This vulnerable creature appears saddened by its plight as popular prey for hunters seeking bushmeat. It has been observed to be highly social, so perhaps, like us, it uses its face as a crucial means of communication. A long human-looking nose completes the anthropomorphic sense that we are looking at a close relative. Monkeys are not as closely related to humans as chimpanzees or gorillas

are but still, we swung together once, a long time ago, assessing the next leap with those keen eyes. It's been a long time. Meet the lesula. This monkey may be new to human catalogues but its profound and tragic gaze suggests it knows us of old.