Thursday 8 March 2018

Smallest monkey's evolutionary secret



Date:  February 27, 2018
Source:  University of Salford

Summary:
Evolutionary biologists have now discovered that the Pygmy Marmoset -- the world's smallest monkey -- is not one species but two.

Weighing in at just 100 grams -- roughly the size of a large tomato -- the insect-eating primate was first described scientifically in 1823 by German naturalist Johann Spix as Cebuella pygmaea, with a sub-species subsequently found.

Now a team led by the University of Salford, using the latest techniques in genomics and phylogenetics, have established proof of two clades or branches of pygmy marmosets, that have diverged from one another around 2 -- 3 million years ago.


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