The black-shanked douc (Pygathrix nigripes ) is an endangered species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of douc

Douc

The doucs or douc langurs make up the genus Pygathrix, which consists of these 3 species:*Red-shanked douc, Pygathrix nemaeus*Black-shanked douc, Pygathrix nigripes*Gray-shanked douc, Pygathrix cinerea...

 found in forests of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 and Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

. This species is unique among the doucs in having a largely greyish-blue face. A recent report by the Wildlife Conservation Society

Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...

estimated that approximately 42,000 black-shanked doucs were present in Cambodia's Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area. Prior to the recent discovery in the Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area, the largest known populations were believed to be in adjacent Vietnam, where the black-shanked douc population hovers at 600. The total population of the species remains unknown.