Morphological and molecular systematics of the extant Colobinae Blyth, 1863 (Primates: Cercopithecidae).

This article focuses on reassessing the phylogenetic relationships and comparative morphology of extant colobine monkeys, a primate subfamily divided into two geographically distinct subtribes: the African Colobina and the Asian Presbytina. By integrating a large molecular dataset with a novel morphological character matrix in total-evidence phylogenetic analyses, the study confirms the reciprocal monophyly of these subtribes, supports Presbytis as sister to other Asian colobines, and identifies Rhinopithecus as sister to the remaining odd-nosed colobines. While African colobines exhibit several reliable skeletal synapomorphies, the Asian presbytinans show greater morphological diversity and fewer unifying skeletal features, likely due to their rapid diversification and historical introgression. The research provides an updated list of morphological traits diagnostic of major clades, offering a foundation for future studies on fossil colobines and improving understanding of colobine evolutionary history.