van Elst T. auteur aut IRD Sgarlata G. M. auteur aut IRD Schüssler D. auteur aut IRD Tiley G. P. auteur aut IRD Poelstra J. W. auteur aut IRD Scheumann M. auteur aut IRD Blanco M. B. auteur aut IRD Aleixo-Pais I. G. auteur aut IRD Evasoa M. R. auteur aut IRD Ganzhorn J. U. auteur aut IRD Goodman S. M. auteur aut IRD Hasiniaina A. F. auteur aut IRD Hending D. auteur aut IRD Hohenlohe P. A. auteur aut IRD Ibouroi M. T. auteur aut IRD Iribar A. auteur aut IRD Jan F. auteur aut IRD Kappeler P. M. auteur aut IRD Le Pors B. auteur aut IRD Manzi S. auteur aut IRD Olivieri G. auteur aut IRD Rakotonanahary A. N. auteur aut IRD Rakotondranary S. J. auteur aut IRD Rakotondravony R. auteur aut IRD Ralison J. M. auteur aut IRD Ranaivoarisoa J. F. auteur aut IRD Randrianambinina B. auteur aut IRD Rasoloarison R. M. auteur aut IRD Rasoloharijaona S. auteur aut IRD Rasolondraibe E. auteur aut IRD Teixeira H. auteur aut IRD Zaonarivelo J. R. auteur aut IRD Louis, E. E., Jr. auteur aut IRD Yoder A. D. auteur aut IRD Chikhi L. auteur aut IRD Radespiel U. auteur aut IRD Salmona Jordi auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Global biodiversity is under accelerating threats, and species are succumbing to extinction before being described. Madagascar's biota represents an extreme example of this scenario, with the added complication that much of its endemic biodiversity is cryptic. Here we illustrate best practices for clarifying cryptic diversification processes by presenting an integrative framework that leverages multiple lines of evidence and taxon-informed cut-offs for species delimitation, while placing special emphasis on identifying patterns of isolation by distance. We systematically apply this framework to an entire taxonomically controversial primate clade, the mouse lemurs (genus Microcebus, family Cheirogaleidae). We demonstrate that species diversity has been overestimated primarily due to the interpretation of geographic variation as speciation, potentially biasing inference of the underlying processes of evolutionary diversification. Following a revised classification, we find that crypsis within the genus is best explained by a model of morphological stasis imposed by stabilizing selection and a neutral process of niche diversification. Finally, by clarifying species limits and defining evolutionarily significant units, we provide new conservation priorities, bridging fundamental and applied objectives in a generalizable framework. A spatial taxonomic framework integrating genomic, morphological, ecological, life history and acoustic data is used to clarify the cryptic evolution of the taxonomically controversial mouse lemur complex, with a view to aiding future conservation of this and other similarly cryptic clades. specialized MADAGASCAR 082 080 9 1 57-95 2025 2397-334X https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010091904 10.1038/s41559-024-02547-w 2397-334X [F B010091904] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010091904 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2024-11/010091904.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2024-11-13 2025-11-04 fdi:010091904 fre