NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – New genome sequence data has bolstered the notion that Indonesia is home to a previously unidentified orangutan species.
Researchers from the University of Zurich, the University of Konstanz, and elsewhere considered genome sequence data for more than three-dozen orangutans, including 17 individuals newly sequenced for the study. Along with crucial morphometric and behavioral data, their genomic comparison pointed to a genetically distinct orangutan falling outside the known Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and Bornean (P. pygmaeus) species.