A couple months ago, a well thought-out fan theory was circulating about Wolverine and whether or not the comic book character was actually named after the correct animal. The Insidious Dr. Grey Matter suggested that Wolverine should actually be named Lynx due to closer similarities in appearance, size, and function of the claws. Like we said, we’re fans of that theory and it makes a lot of strong points, but it also overlooks one thing: the existence of the Wolf’s mona monkey, or Cercopithecus wolfi.

The Wolf’s mona monkey—native to central Africa—likes to eat fruit, looks like it was genetically engineered to bear a close physical resemblance to Wolverine, and has a humanoid body type that makes it a much closer match to the X-Men antihero than a wolverine or a lynx. It has everything: the pointed tufts of hair around the ears, the sideburn-like facial hair, and the look of unwavering determination. If Hugh Jackman took his role as Wolverine seriously at all, he should have boarded a plane to central Africa and followed a Wolf’s mona monkey around for a few weeks.

The photo above, which was taken by Indonesian photographer Lessy Sebastian and posted on Instagram a few months ago, seems to show an especially vibrant example of the species, but even less intensely colored Wolf’s mona monkey easily pass as Wolverine from a grittier comic series with a more muted palette:

There is currently no word on whether the Wolf’s mona monkey is preparing to take legal action against Marvel for using its image without consent, although that might not be a bad move.

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HT: Neatorama
Featured image courtesy of Instagram/lessysebastian