Mitogenomes of museum specimens provide new insight into species classification and recently reduced diversity of highly endangered Nomascus gibbons

Our findings reveal that the western black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor) did not divide into different subspecies, and the relatively low level of genetic diversity emphasizes the importance of monitoring this indicator for vulnerable wildlife. Meanwhile, phylogeographic analysis of the Nomascus genus shows a north-to-south trend of ancestral geographic distribution.