International Journal of Primatology

, Volume 14, Issue 1, pp 167–175 | Cite as

Phylogeny of the slow lorises (genusNycticebus): An approach using mitochondrial DNA restriction enzyme analysis

  • Ya-ping Zhang
  • Zhi-ping Chen
Article
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Abstract

Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms in 15 specimens of three species of slow lorises-Nycticebus coucang, N. intermedius, andN. pygmaeus-were analyzed in order to study the evolutionary relationships among the species. Eight restriction types were observed in the samples. Phylogenetic trees constructed on the basis of genetic distances showed that the slow lorises sort into two clusters: four types ofN. coucang and three types ofN. intermedius plus one type ofN. pygmaeus. Our results suggest that there are two valid species in the genusNycticebus-N. coucang, andN. pygmaeus-and thatN. intermedius should be included withinN. pygmaeus. Divergence between the two species may have begun 2.7 Ma (million years ago). Evolution of gross morphology, chromosomes, and mitochondrial DNA in the slow lorises appears to be concordant.

Key Words

Nycticebus phylogeny mitochondrial DNA Restriction enzyme analysis 
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Copyright information

© Plenum Publishing Corporation 1993

Authors and Affiliations

  • Ya-ping Zhang
    • 1
  • Zhi-ping Chen
    • 1
  1. 1.Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Evolution ,Kunming Institute of ZoologyAcademia SinicaKunmingChina

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