Cropp S, Boinski S
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2000 Sep;16(3):350-65. doi: 10.1006/mpev.2000.0814.
Although squirrel monkeys (Saimiri spp., Primates: Cebidae) are abundant and widespread in South America, the disjunct Central American species, Saimiri oerstedii, has been restricted to the Pacific wet lowlands of Costa Rica and Panama since the earliest historical records. This taxon is now endangered in Costa Rica and nearly extinct in Panama because of habitat loss, development, and the pet trade. Conservation efforts have been hampered because of the influential, but untested, speculation that S. oerstedii represents a hybrid species introduced by prehispanic Amerind traders from multiple localities in South America. Using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships among Saimiri from Central and South America, we reexamine the taxonomic status of squirrel monkeys from different geographic regions. The sequence data support P. Hershkovitz's (1984, Am. J. Primatol. 6: 257-281) taxonomy advocating four distinct species. Combining this information with evidence from the fossil record to date the divergence times among sister taxa, we test and reject the hypothesis that Central American squirrel monkeys are the result of human introduction.
尽管松鼠猴（松鼠猴属，灵长目：卷尾猴科）在南美洲数量众多且分布广泛，但自最早的历史记录以来，中美洲的离散物种奥氏松鼠猴（Saimiri oerstedii）就一直局限于哥斯达黎加和巴拿马的太平洋湿润低地。由于栖息地丧失、开发以及宠物贸易，该分类单元目前在哥斯达黎加濒临灭绝，在巴拿马几乎灭绝。由于有影响但未经检验的推测，即奥氏松鼠猴是前西班牙时期美洲印第安商人从南美洲多个地方引入的杂交物种，保护工作受到了阻碍。我们利用核DNA和线粒体DNA序列数据来重建中美洲和南美洲松鼠猴之间的系统发育关系，重新审视不同地理区域松鼠猴的分类地位。序列数据支持P. 赫什科维茨（1984年，《美国灵长类学杂志》6：257 - 281）主张有四个不同物种的分类法。将这些信息与化石记录中的证据相结合，以确定姐妹分类单元之间的分歧时间，我们检验并否定了中美洲松鼠猴是人类引入的结果这一假设。
