Primates of the Caribbean: Ancient DNA reveals history of mystery monkey

Weird evolution revealed in now-extinct monkey which inhabited Jamaica until a few hundred years ago

Date:  November 12, 2018

Source:  Zoological Society of London

Analysis of ancient DNA of a mysterious extinct monkey named Xenothrix -- which displays bizarre body characteristics very different to any living monkey -- has revealed that it was in fact most closely related to South America's titi monkeys (Callicebinae). Having made their way overwater to Jamaica, probably on floating vegetation, their bones reveal they subsequently underwent remarkable evolutionary change.

The research published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (12 November 2018) and carried out by a team of experts from international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London), London's Natural History Museum (NHM), and the American Museum of Natural History in New York, also reveals that monkeys must have colonised the Caribbean islands more than once. The study reports an incredible discovery of how the unusual ecology of islands can dramatically influence animal evolution.

Xenothrix, unlike any other monkey in the world, was a slow-moving tree-dweller with relatively few teeth, and leg bones somewhat like a rodent's. Its unusual appearance has made it difficult for scientists to work out what it was related to and how it evolved. However, the scientific team have successfully extracted the first ever ancient DNA from an extinct Caribbean primate -- uncovered from bones excavated in a Jamaican cave and providing important new evolutionary insights.

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