| Conservation Genetics and Biogeography of Pitheciines Figueiredo, W.B., J.M. Silva, J.M. Bates, M.L. Harada & J.S. Silva Jr. Endemic to the Amazon region, the Pitheciines (Chiropotes, Cacajao and Pithecia) are one of the most endangered and poorly known Platyrrhine taxa. As very few museum specimens are available, geographical and taxonomic boundaries are not well delimited for most species and subspecies. Using mitochondrial DNA sequences obtained from both museum preserved and fresh tissue, we constructed phylogenetic trees for the three Pitheciine genera. Population genetic analysis was also undertaken to identify genetically differentiated lineages within species and subspecies. Our results show deep divergences among subspecies in Chiropotes, suggesting that they should be treated as different species. A similar pattern is found between the two subspecies of Cacajao melanocephalus. Within Cacajao calvus, no genetic differentiation was found among subspecies defined by pelage color. In Pithecia, major genetic breaks coincide with current taxonomy based on morphology, however, the taxa inhabiting western Amazonia could not be defined by the DNA sequences used in this study. Geographically separated lineages are found within subspecies of all the three genera. We plotted lineage geographical distributions against maps of currently protected areas. If available data on population density is taken into consideration, most pitheciine lineages may not be adequately protected in the medium term. Return to symposium programme |