Nuclear sequences of the 1.8 kilobase (kb) long intron 1 of the interstitial retinol-binding protein gene (IRBP), previously determined for 11 of the 16 extant genera of New World monkeys (superfamily Ceboidea, infraorder Platyrrhini), have now been determined for the remaining 5 genera. The maximum parsimony trees found, first with IRBP sequences alone and then with tandemly combined IRBP and epsilon-globin gene sequences from the same species, supported a provisional cladistic classification with the following clusters. Subtribes Callitrichina (Callithrix, Cebuella), Callimiconina (Callimico), Leontopithecina (Leontopithecus) and Saguina (Saguinus) constitute subfamily Callitrichinae, and subfamilies Callitrichinae, Aotinae (Aotus), and Cebinae (Cebus, Saimiri) constitute family Cebidae. Subtribes Chiropotina (Chiropotes, Cacajao) and Pitheciina (Pithecia) constitute tribe Pitheciini; and tribes Pitheciini and Callicebini (Callicebus) constitute subfamily Pitheciinae. Subtribes Brachytelina (Brachyteles, Lagothrix) and Atelina (Ateles) constitute tribe Atelini, and tribes Atelini and Alouattini (Alouatta) constitute subfamily Atelinae. The parsimony results were equivocal as to whether Pitheciinae should be grouped with Atelinae in family Atelidae or have its own family Pitheciidae. The cladistic groupings of extant ceboids were also examined by different stochastic evolutionary models that employed the same stochastic process of nucleotide substitutions but alternative putative phylogenetic trees on which the nucleotide substitutions occurred. Each model, i.e., each different tree, predicted a different multinomial distribution of nucleotide character patterns for the contemporary sequences. The predicted distributions that were closest to the actual observed distributions identified the best fitting trees. The cladistic relationships depicted in these best fitting trees agreed in almost all cases with those depicted in the maximum parsimony trees.

ABSTRACT. An analysis of seven loci in Cebus apella paraguayanus showed that Glyoxalase I was polymorphic due the appearance of two alleles (GLO*2 and GLO*3) with frequencies of 0.955 and 0.045, respectively. Of the two alleles, GLO*2 was electrophoretically similar to the most common allele found in the human and Aotus. These results confirmed our previous findings in the same population sample showing that this subspecies has a very low genetic variation among New World primates.

A comparative study of 13 blood genetic systems and pelage color variation was performed in four wild populations of Alouatta belzebul. The animals from the west bank of the Tocantins River showed less color variation than those from the east bank, as well as less than those from Tocantins Island. The blood genetic markers, however, revealed an opposite pattern of variation. A previously undescribed morphological variant (completely red) was observed in one specimen of the east bank, where pelage color of the local population varied from completely black to completely red. Levels of heterozygosity and inter- and intralocus variances for the blood systems are compared with those observed in five other species of New World primates.

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Four esterase D (ESD) phenotypes, presumably resulting from the segregation of three alleles with moderate polymorphic frequencies, were observed in a sample of the black handed tamarin, Saguinus midas niger, from the northern Amazonian region (Brazil). Previous surveys in the non-human Anthropoidea indicate that the ESD locus is polymorphic in at least 4 of the 19 taxonomic entities listed.

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The electrophoretic patterns of esterase D (ESD; E.C.3.1.1.1) and carbonic anhydrase 2 (CA 2, E.C.4.2.1.1) were studied in 147 specimens of Cebus apella. Three phenotypes were detected at the esterase D system, ESD 1 allele showing a frequency of 44%, markedly different from those observed in Old World monkeys. CA2 also proved to be polymorphic, with three alleles being detected at the following frequencies: CA2 ~, 98 %; CA22 and CA23, both 1%. The CA2 activity was absent in newborn animals and in fetuses.