Lemurs’ fur colour may not define species
Kellie Heckman, from Yale University collaborated with colleagues from other institutions in the USA to sequence a mitochondrial gene called cytochrome b, in 70 mouse lemurs. The lemurs were thought to belong to up to three different species because they live in different forest habitats and have distinctive coat colours.
However, surprisingly, Heckman et al.’s phylogenetic analysis reveals that the 70 lemurs do not differ genetically. According to their cytochrome b sequence, they all belong to the same, previously identified species, Microcebus griseorufus. The authors also show that the three different coat colours observed are found in all three geographical locations in similar proportions. Because they are nocturnal animals, these lemurs tend to depend more on auditory cues or smell to recognise each other, than on visual cues, such as coat colour. This could explain why a certain amount of variation in coat colour does not affect species recognition in mouse lemurs.
The authors of the study recommend caution when identifying new species of lemurs. They conclude that an approach combining morphological, genetic, geographic, and ecological data is the most likely to give an accurate picture of species diversity.
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.biomedcentral.comAll latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
Superradiant atoms could push the boundaries of how precisely time can be measured
Superradiant atoms can help us measure time more precisely than ever. In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen present a new method for measuring the time interval,…
Ion thermoelectric conversion devices for near room temperature
The electrode sheet of the thermoelectric device consists of ionic hydrogel, which is sandwiched between the electrodes to form, and the Prussian blue on the electrode undergoes a redox reaction…
Zap Energy achieves 37-million-degree temperatures in a compact device
New publication reports record electron temperatures for a small-scale, sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion device. In the nine decades since humans first produced fusion reactions, only a few fusion technologies have demonstrated…