The genus Callicebus (Thomas, 1903) is one of the most diverse of Neotropical primate genera and the only extant member of the Callicebinae subfamily. It has a widespread distribution from Colombia to Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and northern Paraguay. Coat colouring and colour pattern vary substantially within the genus, and this has led to the description of numerous species and subspecies, as well as numerous species groups. However, a lack of molecular phylogenetic analyses on the genus means that phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history of species are poorly understood. Here, we examined phylogenetic relationships and patterns of diversification within the Callicebus cupreus species Group (sensu Kobayashi, 1995) using complete mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene sequence. Analyses indicate that the Callicebus cupreus Group underwent recent and extensive diversification. The common ancestor appears to have emerged some 2.3 million years ago (Ma) from a centre of origin in the western Amazon region, followed by diversification of the group between about 1.5 and 1.2Ma. Phylogenetic analyses were able to recover most previously described species (including the recently described Colombian endemic Callicebus caquetensis). However, there are some notable inconsistences between the obtained phylogeny and current taxonomy. Some previously recognized taxa were not separated by our data (e.g., Callicebus caligatus and Callicebus dubius), while currently unrecognized species diversity was uncovered within C. cupreus in the form of two divergent lineages: one of which exhibited greater phylogenetic similarity to species from the C. moloch Group. Based on the present study, we challenge current taxonomic arrangements for the C. cupreus species Group and call for a thorough taxonomic revision within the genus Callicebus.
Keywords: Callicebus; Diversification; Mitochondrial DNA; Phylogenetic analysis; Primates; South America.
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