The genus is one of the most important taxonomic categories because it appears in the two-part species name, is easier to identify than the species, and is very commonly the least inclusive category employed in paleontological,...
moreThe genus is one of the most important taxonomic categories because it appears in the two-part species name, is easier to identify than the species, and is very commonly the least inclusive category employed in paleontological, ecomorphological, phylogenetic, evolutionary, and biogeographic comparisons. However, the theoretical and practical definitions of genera have received little attention in the New World monkey literature. Six genus-level changes in platyrrhine taxonomy have been suggested since 1998. The genera Leontocebus, Mico, Oreonax, and Sapajus, have been revalidated and Callibella and BTorquatus^ proposed as new. Divergence time is becoming the favored criterion when defining genera, but most molecular phylogenetic studies date the divergence between alleles, not between species, which is the actual date of interest when studying systematics. I here review the recent genus-level changes in platyrrhine taxonomy and propose that we adopt a Bfocused monophyly^ approach for defining genera that overlays a wide variety of morphological, behavioral, and ecological characteristics on the molecular phylogeny to produce a classification. This proposal aims to facilitate communication among researchers and to offer a robust, more predictive, taxonomy that will better withstand future investigations.