Remarkable ancient divergences amongst neglected lorisiform primates

Abstract

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 early origins, with the Galagidae and the Lorisinae diverging in the Oligocene at about 30 Mya and the Perodicticinae emerging in the early Miocene. Our mitochondrial phylogeny agrees with recent studies based on nuclear data, and supports Euoticus as the oldest galagid lineage and the polyphyletic status of Galagoides. Moreover, we have elucidated phylogenetic relationships for several species never included before in a molecular phylogeny. The results obtained in this study suggest that lorisiform diversity remains substantially underestimated and that previously unnoticed cryptic diversity might be present within many lineages, thus urgently requiring a comprehensive taxonomic revision of this primate group. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London

Pliocene Primates

“…Molecular data indicate that some diversification may have occurred within Nycticebus (slow lorises) during the Pliocene (Pozzi et al 2015). Galagos (family Galagidae), however, do have a Pliocene fossil record, and are found at several African sites familiar to students of human evolution, such as Omo (Shungura Formation), Laetoli (Upper Laetolil Beds), and Kanapoi.…”

“…Material represents two extinct species, Galago sadimanensis and Otolemur howelli. According to DNA evidence, one extant galago genus, Sciurocheirus (squirrel galagos), originated in the Pliocene (the rest emerged in the Late Miocene; Pozzi et al 2015).…”

The biogeography and ecology of Sri Lankan mammals point to conservation priorities

“…The crown strepsirrhine lineage has African roots dating back to the late Eocene (about 40 Mya), and split into one galagine and two lorisine lineages shortly thereafter (about 38 Mya) (Seiffert et al, 2003;Pozzi et al, 2015). One lorisine lineage remained in tropical Africa with the galagines, the other migrated north out of Africa and into Asia by way of temporary Afro-Arabian land bridges (Masters et al, 2005).…”

Potential Rediscovery of a Distinct Slow Loris Nycticebus (Mammalia: Strepsirrhini: Lorisidae) from Pulau Tioman

“…Within the taxon, N. coucang, which is endemic to Sumatra, the Malaysian Peninsula and several islands within the South China Sea and the Malacca Straits, diverged from N. menagensis, endemic to Borneo, Natuna and the Philippines, during the Pliocene approximately 6 million years later [Groves, 1971;Groves and Maryanto, 2008]. According to molecular phylogenetics, evidence suggests that Lorisidae is the most genetically divergent group of primates [Perelman et al, 2011], and Nycticebus is recognised as the most diverse lorisid genus [Pozzi et al, 2015]. Therefore, isolation of Nycticebus populations as a consequence of rising sea levels at the end of the Pleistocene epoch is likely to have culminated in further diversification of extant species.…”

“…Substantial variation in morphological traits exhibited amongst slow lorises has been well documented [Nekaris and Jaffe, 2007], yet analysing morphological variation between specimens has likely failed to identify previously unrecognised species amongst known and isolated populations, partly owing to small sample sizes. Welch DOI: 10.1159/000499655 Recent phylogenetic research has shown that the Nycticebus genus first originated approximately 11 million years ago [Pozzi et al, 2015]. Although slow loris evolutionary biogeography is poorly understood, Nycticebus inhabited the Sundaland islands before sea levels rose [Groves, 1971].…”