Molecular phylogeny of gibbons inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences: preliminary report

We analyzed the 896 base-pair (bp) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences for seven gibbons, representative of three out of four subgenera. The result from our molecular analysis is consistent with previous studies as to the monophyly of subgenus Hylobates species, yet the relationship among subgenera remains slightly ambiguous. A striking result of the analysis is the phylogenetic location of Kloss's gibbon (H. klossii). Kloss's gibbon has been considered to be an initial offshoot of the subgenus Hylobates because of its morphological primitiveness. However, our molecular data strongly suggest that Kloss's gibbon speciated most recently within the subgenus Hylobates.