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Taxonomy and evolution of gibbons
Author(s) -
Geissmann Thomas
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
evolutionary anthropology: issues, news, and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1520-6505
pISSN - 1060-1538
DOI - 10.1002/evan.10047
Subject(s) - citation , taxonomy (biology) , library science , computer science , humanities , philosophy , zoology , biology
Because the fossil history of gibbons is virtually unknown,1,2 gibbon evolution can only be reconstructed from a comparative analysis of evolutionarily informative characteristics of modern gibbons and, to some degree, of related primate taxa that can be used as outgroups. Several studies have tried to reconstruct gibbon phylogeny, using fur coloration, morphological, vocal, or molecular data.3–10 Each study produced a different result. As a consequence, the relationships among the various hylobatids are under debate, and even the evolutionary relationships among the major groups of gibbons remain unresolved.11 For the present study, three different data sets of approximately equal size were collected in order to assess their relevance for a reconstruction of gibbon phylogeny with cladistic methods. Set 1 uses characteristics of fur coloration, set 2 consists mainly of morphological and anatomical data, and set 3 consists of vocal data. MATERIALS AND METHODS