The use of genome-wide genetic markers is an emerging approach for informing evidence-based management decisions for highly threatened species. Pangolins are the most heavily trafficked mammals across illegal wildlife trade globally, but Critically Endangered Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) have not been widely studied in insular Southeast Asia. We used > 12,000 single nucleotide polymorphic markers (SNPs) to assign pangolin seizures from illegal trade of unknown origin to possible geographic sources via genetic clustering with pangolins of known origin. Our SNPs reveal three previously unrecognized genetic lineages of Sunda pangolins, possibly from Borneo, Java and Singapore/Sumatra. The seizure assignments suggest the majority of pangolins were traded from Borneo to Java. Using mitochondrial markers did not provide the same resolution of pangolin lineages, and to explore if admixture might explain these differences, we applied sophisticated tests of introgression using > 2,000 SNPs to investigate secondary gene flow between each of the three Sunda pangolin lineages. It is possible the admixture which we discovered is due to human-mediated movements of pangolins. Our findings impact a range of conservation actions, including tracing patterns of trade, repatriation of rescue animals, and conservation breeding. In order to conserve genetic diversity, we suggest that, pending further research, each pangolin lineage should as a precaution be protected and managed as an evolutionarily distinct conservation unit.

Indonesia has amongst the highest primate species richness, and many species are included on the country's protected species list, partially to prevent over-exploitation. Nevertheless traders continue to sell primates in open wildlife markets especially on the islands of Java and Bali. We surveyed 13 wildlife markets in 2012-2014 and combined our results with previous surveys from 1990-2009 into a 122-survey dataset with 2,424 records of 17 species. These data showed that the diversity of species in trade decreased over time, shifting from rare rainforest-dwelling primates traded alongside more widespread species that are not confined to forest to the latter type only. In the 1990s and early 2000s orangutans, gibbons and langurs were commonly traded alongside macaques and slow lorises but in the last decade macaques and slow lorises comprised the bulk of the trade. In 2012-2014 we monitored six wildlife markets in Jakarta, Bandung and Garut (all on Java), and Denpasar (Bali). During 51 surveys we recorded 1,272 primates of eight species. Traders offered long-tailed macaque (total 1,007 individuals) and three species of slow loris (228 individuals) in five of the six markets, whereas they traded ebony langurs (18 individuals), and pig-tailed macaques (14 individuals) mostly in Jakarta. Pramuka and Jatinegara markets, both in Jakarta, stood out as important hubs for the primate trade, with a clear shift in importance over time from the former to the latter. Slow lorises, orangutans, gibbons and some langurs are protected under Indonesian law, which prohibits all trade in them; of these protected species, only the slow lorises remained common in trade throughout the 25-year period. Trade in non-protected macaques and langurs is subject to strict regulations-which market traders did not follow-making all the market trade in primates that we observed illegal. Trade poses a substantial threat to Indonesian primates, and without enforcement, the sheer volume of trade may mean that species of Least Concern or Near Threatened may rapidly decline. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22517, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

We report new mitochondrial DNA sequence data from tarsiers sampled from several populations, including the extreme northeast and southwest of the range of the Tarsius tarsier species complex, the most extensive sampling ever reported for this taxon. Our results provide the opportunity to produce the first ever molecular chronometric analysis of Tarsiidae. These results date the age of crown tarsiers, minimally, to the middle Miocene, and each of the 3 tarsier species groups, Tarsius bancanus, T. syrichta, and the T. tarsier complex, to the early or middle Miocene. Thus, each of these 3 species has evolved in isolation for a period of time that is consistent with that which would be expected for multiple speciation events. Our analysis of the Tarsius tarsier complex reveals 5 subclades, each of which is interpreted to represent a haplogroup at, or above, the species level, a result that is consistent with current hypotheses about numerous cryptic species within this species complex. The implications for conservation within the Sulawesi biogeographic region are that Sulawesi is subdivided into numerous subregions of Int endemism and that, by extrapolating the example of cryptic tarsier species to other taxa, biodiversity may be underestimated by an order of magnitude. The practical realties of conservation in Sulawesi are such that it is most reasonable to assume that anthropogenic extinctions are occurring, and that some species will go extinct before they have even been identified.

Gum is a widely available carbohydrate, composed mainly of non-digestible structural carbohydrates. No mammalian enzymes can digest gum; therefore, a mammal ingesting gum must rely on microbial fermentation to access the energy it possesses. Gums are relatively nutrient poor. Despite this, some mammals have evolved to exploit this food resource. We aim to review the literature for all mammal species which have been recorded to ingest gum, whether quantified or not, and discuss this in the context of their evolutionary adaptations. We also investigated the recommended captive diets for these species to look at whether gum is recommended. We conducted a literature search on ISI Web of Knowledge to tabulate all mammal species observed ingesting gum and classified them as obligate, facultative or opportunistic feeders. We encountered 94 mammal species that eat gum in the wild (27 obligate feeders, 34 facultative feeders and 33 opportunistic feeders). Obligate feeders have entirely evolved to exploit this resource but were found to not be given gum in captivity, which may explain why they are failing to thrive, as opposed to facultative feeders, which have fewer issues. Gum may be necessary for the health of obligate feeders in captivity. Future research should focus on the physiological effects that gum ingestion poses on different digestive systems.

On the basis of distinguishing characteristics of various genetic markers, pelage color, tail tuft, and vocalizations, we describe a new species of the genus Tarsius Storr 1780. The new taxon Tarsius wallacei sp. nov. occupies a disjunct range in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The two isolated populations differ significantly in body size, but are alike in color, tail tuft dimensions, vocalizations, and genetic composition. Morphologically, the new species is similar to other Sulawesi lowland tarsiers. In the field, it can be distinguished from its congeners via a characteristic duet song and its yellow-brown pelage coloration and a coppercolored throat. Genetic analyses prove Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA sequences and also microsatellite allele frequencies to be absolutely diagnostic.