Dec.
7, 2012 — Did different species of early humans interbreed and produce
offspring of mixed ancestry?
Recent
genetic studies suggest that Neanderthals may have bred with anatomically
modern humans tens of thousands of years ago in the Middle East, contributing
to the modern human gene pool. But the findings are not universally accepted,
and the fossil record has not helped to clarify the role of interbreeding,
which is also known as hybridization.
Now
a University of Michigan-led study of interbreeding between two species of
modern-day howler monkeys in Mexico is shedding light on why it's so difficult
to confirm instances of hybridization among primates -- including early humans
-- by relying on fossil remains.
The
study, published online Dec. 7 in the American Journal of Physical
Anthropology, is based on analyses of genetic and morphological data collected
from live-captured monkeys over the past decade. Morphology is the branch of
biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants.
The
two primate species in the study, mantled howler monkeys and black howler
monkeys, diverged about 3 million years ago and differ in many respects,
including behavior, appearance and the number of chromosomes they possess. Each
occupies a unique geographical distribution except for the state of Tabasco in
southeastern Mexico, where they coexist and interbreed in what's known as a
hybrid zone.
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