Total evidence phylogeny of platyrrhine primates and a comparison of undated and tip-dating approaches

Beck, RMD; de Vries, D; Janiak, MC; Goodhead, IB; Boubli, JP

Abstract

There have been multiple published phylogenetic analyses of platyrrhine primates (New World
monkeys) using both morphological and molecular data, but relatively few that have integrated
both types of data into a total evidence approach. Here, we present phylogenetic analyses of
Recent and fossil platyrrhines, based on a total evidence dataset of 418 morphological characters
and 10.2 kilobases of DNA sequence data from 17 nuclear genes taken from previous studies,
using undated and tip-dating approaches in a Bayesian framework. We compare the results of
these analyses with molecular scaffold analyses using maximum parsimony and Bayesian
approaches, and we use a formal information theoretic approach to identify unstable taxa. After a
posteriori pruning of unstable taxa, the undated and tip-dating topologies appear congruent with
recent molecular analyses and support largely similar relationships, with strong support for
Stirtonia as a stem alouattine, Neosaimiri as a stem saimirine, Cebupithecia as a stem pitheciine,
and Lagonimico as a stem callitrichid. Both analyses find three Greater Antillean subfossil
platyrrhines (Xenothrix, Antillothrix, and Paralouatta) to form a clade that is related to
Callicebus, congruent with a single dispersal event by the ancestor of this clade to the Greater
Antilles. They also suggest that the fossil Proteropithecia may not be closely related to
pitheciines, and that all known platyrrhines older than the Middle Miocene are stem taxa.
Notably, the undated analysis found the Early Miocene Panamacebus (currently recognized as
the oldest known cebid) to be unstable, and the tip-dating analysis placed it outside crown Platyrrhini. Our tip-dating analysis supports a late Oligocene or earliest Miocene (20.8–27.0 Ma)
age for crown Platyrrhini, congruent with recent molecular clock analyses.

Citation

Beck, R., de Vries, D., Janiak, M., Goodhead, I., & Boubli, J. (2022). Total evidence phylogeny of platyrrhine primates and a comparison of undated and tip-dating approaches. Journal of Human Evolution, 174, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103293

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 22, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Dec 6, 2022
• Publication Date: Dec 6, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jan 3, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 7, 2023
• Journal: Journal of Human Evolution
• Print ISSN: 0047-2484
• Electronic ISSN: 1095-8606
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 174
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103293
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103293