Journal article
Morphometric, Behavioral, and Genomic Evidence for a New Orangutan Species
Current Biology, Vol.27(22), pp.3487-3498.e10
2017
Abstract
Six extant species of non-human great apes are currently recognized: Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, eastern and western gorillas, and chimpanzees and bonobos [1]. However, large gaps remain in our knowledge of fine-scale variation in hominoid morphology, behavior, and genetics, and aspects of great ape taxonomy remain in flux. This is particularly true for orangutans (genus: Pongo), the only Asian great apes and phylogenetically our most distant relatives among extant hominids [1]. Designation of Bornean and Sumatran orangutans, P. pygmaeus (Linnaeus 1760) and P. abelii (Lesson 1827), as distinct species occurred in 2001 [1, 2]. Here, we show that an isolated population from Batang Toru, at the southernmost range limit of extant Sumatran orangutans south of Lake Toba, is distinct from other northern Sumatran and Bornean populations. By comparing cranio-mandibular and dental characters of an orangutan killed in a human-animal conflict to those of 33 adult male orangutans of a similar developmental stage, we found consistent differences between the Batang Toru individual and other extant Ponginae. Our analyses of 37 orangutan genomes provided a second line of evidence. Model-based approaches revealed that the deepest split in the evolutionary history of extant orangutans occurred ∼3.38 mya between the Batang Toru population and those to the north of Lake Toba, whereas both currently recognized species separated much later, about 674 kya. Our combined analyses support a new classification of orangutans into three extant species. The new species, Pongo tapanuliensis, encompasses the Batang Toru population, of which fewer than 800 individuals survive. Video Abstract [Figure presented] Nater et al. describe a new great ape species, the Tapanuli orangutan Pongo tapanuliensis. An isolated population from Batang Toru is highly distinct from the northern Sumatran and Bornean species, based on morphological variation, corroborated by population genomic analyses. Fewer than 800 individuals of P. tapanuliensis survive in the wild.
Details
- Title
- Morphometric, Behavioral, and Genomic Evidence for a New Orangutan Species
- Authors/Creators
- A. Nater (Author/Creator) - University of ZurichM.P. Mattle-Greminger (Author/Creator) - University of ZurichA. Nurcahyo (Author/Creator) - Australian National UniversityM.G. Nowak (Author/Creator) - Southern Illinois University CarbondaleM. de Manuel (Author/Creator) - Universitat Pompeu FabraT. Desai (Author/Creator) - University of CambridgeC. Groves (Author/Creator) - Australian National UniversityM. Pybus (Author/Creator) - Universitat Pompeu FabraT.B. Sonay (Author/Creator) - University of ZurichC. Roos (Author/Creator) - German Primate CenterA.R. Lameira (Author/Creator) - Durham UniversityS.A. Wich (Author/Creator) - Liverpool John Moores UniversityJ. Askew (Author/Creator) - University of Southern CaliforniaM. Davila-Ross (Author/Creator) - University of PortsmouthG. Fredriksson (Author/Creator) - University of AmsterdamG. de Valles (Author/Creator) - Universitat Pompeu FabraF. Casals (Author/Creator) - Universitat Pompeu FabraJ. Prado-Martinez (Author/Creator) - Wellcome Sanger InstituteB. Goossens (Author/Creator) - Cardiff UniversityE.J. Verschoor (Author/Creator) - Biomedical Primate Research CentreK.S. Warren (Author/Creator) - Murdoch UniversityI. Singleton (Author/Creator) - Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (PanEco-YEL), Jalan Wahid Hasyim 51/74, Medan 20154, IndonesiaD.A. Marques (Author/Creator) - University of ZurichJ. Pamungkas (Author/Creator) - IPB UniversityD. Perwitasari-Farajallah (Author/Creator) - IPB UniversityP. Rianti (Author/Creator) - University of ZurichA. Tuuga (Author/Creator) - Sabah Wildlife DepartmentI.G. Gut (Author/Creator) - Universitat Pompeu FabraM. Gut (Author/Creator)P. Orozco-terWengel (Author/Creator) - Cardiff UniversityC.P. van Schaik (Author/Creator) - University of ZurichJ. Bertranpetit (Author/Creator) - Universitat Pompeu FabraM. Anisimova (Author/Creator) - SIB Swiss Institute of BioinformaticsA. Scally (Author/Creator) - University of CambridgeT. Marques-Bonet (Author/Creator) - Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis AvançatsE. Meijaard (Author/Creator) - Australian National UniversityM. Krützen (Author/Creator) - University of Zurich
- Publication Details
- Current Biology, Vol.27(22), pp.3487-3498.e10
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Identifiers
- 991005545196407891
- Copyright
- © 2017 Elsevier Ltd
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Veterinary and Life Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.35 Zoology & Animal Ecology
- 3.35.693 Primate Behavior
- Web Of Science research areas
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
- Biology
- Cell Biology
- ESI research areas
- Biology & Biochemistry