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Ancient DNA from giant extinct lemurs confirms single origin of Malagasy primates.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Karanth, KP; Delefosse, T; Rakotosamimanana, B; Parsons, TJ; Yoder, AD
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
April 2005

The living Malagasy lemurs constitute a spectacular radiation of >50 species that are believed to have evolved from a common ancestor that colonized Madagascar in the early Tertiary period. Yet, at least 15 additional Malagasy primate species, some of which were relative giants, succumbed to extinction within the past 2,000 years. Their existence in Madagascar is recorded predominantly in its Holocene subfossil record. To rigorously test the hypothesis that all endemic Malagasy primates constitute a monophyletic group and to determine the evolutionary relationships among living and extinct taxa, we have conducted an ancient DNA analysis of subfossil species. A total of nine subfossil individuals from the extinct genera Palaeopropithecus and Megaladapis yielded amplifiable DNA. Phylogenetic analysis of cytochrome b sequences derived from these subfossils corroborates the monophyly of endemic Malagasy primates. Our results support the close relationship of sloth lemurs to living indriids, as has been hypothesized on morphological grounds. In contrast, Megaladapis does not show a sister-group relationship with the living genus Lepilemur. Thus, the classification of the latter in the family Megaladapidae is misleading. By correlating the geographic location of subfossil specimens with relative amplification success, we reconfirm the global trend of increased success rates of ancient DNA recovery from nontropical localities.

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Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

April 2005

Volume

102

Issue

14

Start / End Page

5090 / 5095

Related Subject Headings

  • Sequence Alignment
  • Primates
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Phylogeny
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Models, Genetic
  • Madagascar
  • Lemur
  • Fossils
  • Evolution, Molecular
 

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Karanth, K. P., Delefosse, T., Rakotosamimanana, B., Parsons, T. J., & Yoder, A. D. (2005). Ancient DNA from giant extinct lemurs confirms single origin of Malagasy primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(14), 5090–5095. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0408354102
Karanth, K Praveen, Thomas Delefosse, Berthe Rakotosamimanana, Thomas J. Parsons, and Anne D. Yoder. “Ancient DNA from giant extinct lemurs confirms single origin of Malagasy primates.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102, no. 14 (April 2005): 5090–95. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0408354102.
Karanth KP, Delefosse T, Rakotosamimanana B, Parsons TJ, Yoder AD. Ancient DNA from giant extinct lemurs confirms single origin of Malagasy primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2005 Apr;102(14):5090–5.
Karanth, K. Praveen, et al. “Ancient DNA from giant extinct lemurs confirms single origin of Malagasy primates.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 102, no. 14, Apr. 2005, pp. 5090–95. Epmc, doi:10.1073/pnas.0408354102.
Karanth KP, Delefosse T, Rakotosamimanana B, Parsons TJ, Yoder AD. Ancient DNA from giant extinct lemurs confirms single origin of Malagasy primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2005 Apr;102(14):5090–5095.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

April 2005

Volume

102

Issue

14

Start / End Page

5090 / 5095

Related Subject Headings

  • Sequence Alignment
  • Primates
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Phylogeny
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Models, Genetic
  • Madagascar
  • Lemur
  • Fossils
  • Evolution, Molecular