"The Speciation and the Hybridization of Sulawesi Macaques.

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Sulawesi macaques exhibit several morphotypes. Fooden (1969) examined the specimens collected in museums and classified them into seven species by their well-defined characteristics. Because of the scarcity of specimens from remote and poorly accessible places, however, monkeys living in the borderlands between species have not been adequately examined. Groves (1980) found some possible hybrid monkeys in the borderlands between Macaca nigra and M. nigrescens, and between M. tonkeana and M. hecki. As a result, he classified M. nirescens as a subspecies of M. nigra and M. hecki as a subspecies of M. tonkeana. Since the borderland between M. ochreata and M. tonkeana is situated in the region furthest from the major towns in Sulawesi, no specimens from that area have been available and information on the monkeys and their distribution has been limited until now. We had the opportunity to survey monkeys in this inferred borderland between M. ochreata and M. tonkeana, namely in the most proximal part of the south-eastern peninsula of the island (Fooden, 1969). So, we have recognized the existence of some hybrid monkeys. We are, now, discussing the big problem of species concept in the field of biology.