Remarkable ancient divergences amongst neglected lorisiform primates
Lorisiform primates (Primates: Strepsirrhini: Lorisiformes) represent almost 10% of the living primate species and are widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and South/South-East Asia; however, their taxonomy, evolutionary history, and biogeography are still poorly understood. In this study we report the largest molecular phylogeny in terms of the number of represented taxa. We sequenced the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene for 86 lorisiform specimens, including ∼80% of all the species currently recognized. Our results support the monophyly of the Galagidae, but a common ancestry of the Lorisinae and Perodicticinae (family Lorisidae) was not recovered. These three lineages have ea…
A new genus for the eastern dwarf galagos (Primates: Galagidae).
13 pages; International audience; The family Galagidae (African galagos or bushbabies) comprises five genera: EuoticusGray, 1872; GalagoGeoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1796; GalagoidesSmith, 1833; OtolemurCoquerel, 1859; and SciurocheirusGray, 1872, none of which is regarded as monotypic, but some (Euoticus and Otolemur) certainly qualify as oligotypic. We argue for the recognition of a sixth genus, if the taxonomy is to reflect galagid evolution accurately. Genetic evidence has consistently demonstrated that the taxa currently referred to the genus Galagoides are not monophyletic but form two clades (a western and an eastern clade) that do not share an exclusive common ancestor; we review 20 years…