Phylogenetic tests of a Cercopithecus monkey hybrid reveal X-chromosomal polyphyly of C. cephus and emerging patterns in the cephus species group radiation

A captive Cercopithecus nictitans × C. cephus male was examined at loci on the X- and Y-chromosomes as a test of previously described phylogenetic methods for identifying hybrid Cercopithecus monkeys. The results confirm the reliability of such assays, indicating that they can be of immediate utility for studies of wild populations in Gabon, where the two species have hybridised. A closer examination of the resultant sex chromosomal topologies, combined with recent mitochondrial studies, reveals two emerging patterns in the evolution of the cephus species group. First, all three genetic systems (X-DNA, Y-DNA and mtDNA) agree that the earliest divergence separates West African from Central African species, consistent with a major faunal transition zone in the vicinity of the Cross River. Second, the X-DNA and mtDNA trees reveal polyphyly of C. cephus lineages. It is unclear at present whether these polyphylies are due to ancestral hybridisation or incomplete lineage sorting, or both.