New Insights into Samango Monkey Speciation in South Africa

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117003
• Publication Date: 2015-03-23T18:21:30Z
• Authors: Desiré L. Dalton; Birthe Linden; Kirsten Wimberger; Lisa Jane Nupen; Adrian S. W. Tord...; Peter John Taylor; M. Thabang Madisha; Antoinette Kotze
• Keywords: Conservation of Natural Resources; Population genetics; Genetic Speciation; Genetic loci; Science; Monkeys; Forests; Cercopithecus; Samango monkey (Cercopithecus albogularis); DNA, Mitochondrial; Body Mass Index; Species Specificity; Animals; Veterinary science articles SDG-15; South Africa (SA); Ecosystem; Phylogeny; Cercopithecus nictitans; SDG-15: Life on land; Population Density; Phylogenetic analysis; Arboreal guenons; Q; R; Genetic Variation; 15. Life on land; Mitochondrial DNA; Polymerase chain reaction; Haplotypes; Africa; Medicine; Research Article; Hair; Microsatellite Repeats

The samango monkey is South Africa's only exclusively forest dwelling primate and represents the southernmost extent of the range of arboreal guenons in Africa. The main threats to South Africa's forests and thus to the samango are linked to increasing land-use pressure and increasing demands for forest resources, resulting in deforestation, degradation and further fragmentation of irreplaceable habitats. The species belongs to the highly polytypic Cercopithecus nictitans group which is sometimes divided into two species C. mitis and C. albogularis. The number of subspecies of C. albogularis is also under debate and is based only on differences in pelage colouration and thus far no genetic research has been undertaken on South African samango monkey populations. In this study we aim to further clarify the number of samango monkey subspecies, as well as their respective distributions in South Africa by combining molecular, morphometric and pelage data. Overall, our study provides the most comprehensive view to date into the taxonomic description of samango monkeys in South Africa. Our data supports the identification of three distinct genetic entities namely; C. a. labiatus, C. a. erythrarchus and C. a. schwarzi and argues for separate conservation management of the distinct genetic entities defined by this study.