Morphological and molecular systematics of the extant Colobinae Blyth, 1863 (Primates: Cercopithecidae)

Abstract The extant colobine monkeys are a large primate radiation represented by two geographical subtribes, the African Colobina Blyth, 1863 and the Asian Presbytina Gray, 1825. The phylogenetic relationships of the colobinans are well resolved, but uncertainty persists among presbytinans. This study combines a large molecular dataset with a new morphological matrix to reassess relationships of the presbytinans using a total-evidence phylogenetic approach and to revisit colobine comparative morphology in the context of an updated phylogenetic hypothesis. Previously supported relationships of colobinans are replicated here. Among presbytinans, Presbytis Eschscholtz, 1821 is the sister to the other presbytinans, Semnopithecus Desmarest, 1822 and Trachypithecus Reichenbach, 1862 form a clade, and Rhinopithecus Milne-Edwards, 1872 is sister to the other odd-nosed colobines (Pygathrix E. Geoffroy, 1812, Simias Miller, 1903, and Nasalis E. Geoffroy, 1812). Several features diagnostic of the subtribes and clades within each subtribe are identified. The skeletal diversity of the presbytinans and the presence of few features that unite the subtribe might be attributable to the recent and rapid nature of their diversification and to substantial historical introgression among lineages. Finally, this work provides a foundation for future studies including the fossil colobines, whose relationships remain largely unresolved.