Neotropical primate evolution and phylogenetic reconstruction using chromosomal data

Abstract

Platyrrhini are a group of Neotropical primates living in central and south America, and have been extensively studied through morphological and molecular data in order to shed light on their phylogeny and evolution. Agreement on the main clades of Neotropical primates has been reached using different approaches, but many phylogenetic nodes remain under discussion. Contrasting hypotheses have been proposed, presumably due to different markers and the presence of polymorphisms in the features considered; furthermore, neither Neotropical primate biodiversity nor their taxonomy are entirely known. In our perspective, a cytogenetic approach can help by making an important contribution to the evaluation of the phylogenetic relationships among Platyrrhini. In this work, molecular cytogenetic data regarding the principal nodes of the Neotropical monkey tree have been reviewed; classical cytogenetic data have also been considered, especially when other data have proven elusive, permitting us to discuss highly derived karyotypes characterized by a wide range of diploid numbers of chromosomes and variable chromosomal evolution with different rearrangement and polymorphism rates.