Comparative studies on G and C banded chromosomes of three subspecies of the stump tailed monkey(Macaca speciosa)

This paper reports on G and C-banded chromosome analysis of the three subspecies of the stump-tailed monkey, Macaca speciosa speciosa, M.s. melli and M.s.subsp. Chromosome preparations were obtained from leucocytes cultivated in vitro. T-G method was used in G-banding and BSG method in C-banding. The results have shown that:(1) The metaphase chromosomes of the three subspecies show similar or identical G-banding patterns; (2) Their C-bands are jocated mainly in the centromeric regions, No obvious difference had been found in the amount or in distribution.In addition, on the basis of his recent work,Dr. Fooden makes some changes for the classification of the living species of genus Macaca. According to his opinion, M.s.speciosa should belong to M.arctoides of the arctoides group; M.s.thibetana is now a seperate species, M.thibetana, belonging to sinica group. M.s. melli and M.s.subsp. ought to be assigned to M.thibetana by their morphological characteristics and geographical distributions. Thus, these three subspecies are in fact two different species, M.arctoides and M. thibetana.In sum, the results of this study show that no obvious differences exist in G-and C-banding patterns between M. arctoides and M. thibetana.