关键词: 亚洲叶猴;Presbytis;颅骨

Abstract: The Asian langurs (Genus Presbyris) had been divided into one, two, three, and four genera or subgenera or groups by various authors. Eleven variables, of 115 skulls of eight species (Kasi vetulus; Semnopithecus entellus; Presbytis francoisi, phayrei, melanophus, comata, cristata, and pileatus) were measured. Through univariate analysis, ONE- Way, multivariate analysis of variances and discriminant function analysis, and star symbol plots structured based on selected variables by discriminant function analysis, several conclusions can be represented as following:
1. Asian langurs can be divided into four genera or subgenera: Semnopithecus, Trachypithecus, Kasi and Presbytis.
2. Star symbol plots (Fig.2), the classification results(Table 3), and the infant coloration show that Kasi and Presbytis are closely related forms. They should be the products of parallel evolution in Island forms. To the contrary, Semnopithecus is a highly specialized form, and exhibits strong adaptability for various ecological niches and genetic diversity, while Trachypithecus shows more features similar to Presbyris than to Kasi, as 6 of 8 protein isoenzymes of blood possess the same electrophoretic patteras(Oates, 1982).
3. Intermittent connection between island or islands and continent, and the migration and the spread of Presbytis and Trachypithecus or Kasi and Semnopithecus occurred under the climatic influences during Pleistocene ice period. These events would result in the recent distributional patterns of these animals.
Our phyletic cladogram differs from those shown by Strasser et al. (1987), Fleagle (1988a) and Schultz(1986)(Fig.3).
This project is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation and a grant for systematic and evolutionary biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Key words: Skull; Presbytis; Comparative study