PHYLOGENY OF NEOTROPICAL MONKEYS - THE INTERPLAY OF MORPHOLOGICAL, MOLECULAR, AND PARASITOLOGICAL DATA

Separate independent hypotheses of the phylogenetic relationships amon g the Platyrrhini monkeys have been produced in a recent past, either based upon morphological or molecular data, but the results are genera lly conflicting and the phylogeny of the group still is debated. The h igh host specificity observed among primates and their oxyurid parasit es allows to consider the result of a morphologically based cladistic analysis of the pinworms of the Platyrrhini as an estimate of the phyl ogeny of these monkeys. Using the matrix representation method this '' parasite-tree'' is combined, using parsimony analysis, with several co nflicting molecular or morphological hypothesis of the phylogeny of th e host group. The results are discussed with respect to previously pub lished classification, or composite computations of the phylogeny, of the Neotropical monkeys. Comparison of different hypothesis makes appa rent several stable groups: (i) the Callithrichidae + Saimiri, (ii) th e Atelidae/Alouattidae, (iii) the Pitheciidae, and (iv) the Alouattida e/Atelidae + Pitheciidae. In addition, the parasite and the molecular trees support close relationships between Callimico and Callithrix/Ceb uella. The study also makes apparent that the parasite tree generally portrays the results of other studies, both when they are congruous an d when they are conflicting. This is interpreted to be additional evid ence for close coevolution between the Platyrrhini and their specific pinworms, Because, whatever the combination of data being considered n o consensus can be found on the exact position of Aotus and Callicebus , and because it is likely that the earliest radiation of the Platyrrh ini could be comparable to an evolutionary burst, which renders identi fication of homologous characters difficult, it is suggested that, pos sibly, not enough discriminating tracks of the evolutionary paths have been conserved to allow to resolve this uncertainty in the future. (C ) 1998 Academic Press.