A Molecular Phylogeny of Living Primates

Comparative genomic analyses of primates offer considerable potential to define and understand the processes that mold, shape, and transform the human genome. However, primate taxonomy is both complex and controversial, with marginal unifying consensus of the evolutionary hierarchy of extant primate species. Here we provide new genomic sequence (~8 Mb) from 186 primates representing 61 (~90%) of the described genera, and we include outgroup species from Dermoptera, Scandentia, and Lagomorpha. The resultant phylogeny is exceptionally robust and illuminates events in primate evolution from ancient to recent, clarifying numerous taxonomic controversies and providing new data on human evolution. Ongoing…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• CN
  Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: N01-CO-12400
• NC
  National Cancer Institute

  Award: N01-CO-12400