GENETIC VARIATIONS WITHIN AND BETWEEN SPECIES OF ASIAN MACAQUES

Genetic variability within and between 13 populations of 7 species of the Asian macaques was quantified by using data obtained from electrophoretic examinations of blood proteins. Variations of 28 to 29 genetic loci controlling the structure of 26 to 27 kinds of enzymatic and non-enzymatic blood proteins were examined in a total number of 1, 404 samples. The proportion of polymorphic loci was 14-41% and the mean heterozygosity per individual 1.9-10.8% except in the Yaku Island population of the Japanese macaque (M. fuscata yakui) where the genetic variation was completely lacking. It was considered that the genetic variability in a breeding unit or troop of the taxa examined here would be lower than these values since each sampled population was regarded to be a mixture of individuals from different origins. The genetic distances between different “species” were too small to be considered as real biological species. Recalling the fact that these “species” are completely interfertile and have the same chromosome constitution, the authors consider that a biologically more acceptable system of classification of the Asian macaques could be reconstructed by lowering the so-called “genus” to the rank of species and the so-called “species” to the rank of subspecies.