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The evolution of the Cercopithecini: a (post)modern synthesis.

Stefania Lo Bianco¹, Judith C Masters², Luca Sineo¹

¹Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 18, 90123, Palermo, Italy.

Evolutionary Anthropology

|December 22, 2017

Summary

African guenon monkeys (Cercopithecini) show rapid evolution in coloration and chromosomes but slow skeletal and genetic changes. This highlights differing rates of differentiation during speciation in primates.

Keywords:

Cercopithecoidea chromosomes fissioning guenons phylogeny

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Area of Science:

Primate evolutionary biology
Speciation research
Mammalian genetics and morphology

Background:

The Cercopithecini, or African guenon monkeys, represent a highly diverse primate clade within Catarrhini.
Species recognition in guenons involves distinct facial/genital coloration and significant chromosomal rearrangements.
Despite external and cytogenetic diversity, guenons exhibit skeletal conservatism and low genetic divergence.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the evolutionary conundrum of differing rates of differentiation during speciation in African guenon monkeys.
To reconcile the apparent paradox between rapid chromosomal/color evolution and slow skeletal/genetic divergence.
To review diverse data types to understand the mechanisms driving speciation in this primate group.

Main Methods:

Review of diverse datasets including morphological, cytogenetic, and genetic sequence data.
Comparative analysis of skeletal conservatism across guenon taxa.
Examination of reproductive differentiation rates in relation to other evolutionary metrics.

Main Results:

African guenons exhibit a mosaic pattern of evolution, with rapid divergence in some traits (coloration, chromosomes) and stasis in others (skeletal structure, genetic sequences).
Low genetic sequence divergence suggests recent speciation events among congeneric guenon species.
Morphological, cytogenetic, and reproductive differentiation occur at independent and variable rates.

Conclusions:

The guenon radiation exemplifies that speciation is not a uniform process, with different biological systems evolving at distinct paces.
Understanding primate speciation requires integrating data from multiple biological levels to account for varied evolutionary tempos.
Further research is needed to elucidate the specific selective pressures and genetic mechanisms driving the observed patterns of differentiation in Cercopithecini.