Julia Arenson

I am broadly interested in the evolution of cercopithecoid monkeys, including the
systematics of extant and fossil taxa and their skeletal functional morphology, craniofacial
variation, and biogeography. I received my PhD in Biological Anthropology from the City
University of New York in 2024, advised by Dr. Chris Gilbert. My dissertation undertook a total-
evidence phylogenetic analysis of the fossil and living colobine (leaf-eating) monkeys to explore
the morphological evolution, biogeographic history, and ecological polarity of the subfamily.

I am now a YIBS Postdoctoral Associate working with Dr. Eric Sargis and in collaboration
with the Yale Peabody Museum, focusing on the biodiversity and systematics of rare and
endemic living cercopithecid primates in the Congo Basin. This work is important for accurately
assessing the diversity of these endangered species to help determine conservation priority.

Arenson J. L., Harrison T., Sargis E. J., Taboada H. G., Gilbert C. C. (2022). A new species
of fossil guenon (Cercopithecini, Cercopithecidae) from the Early Pleistocene Lower Ngaloba
Beds, Laetoli, Tanzania. Journal of Human Evolution 163:103136.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103136 

Arenson J. L., Simons E. A., Anderson M., Eller, A. R., White F., Frost S. R. (2022).
Comparison of captive and wild fascicularis-group macaques (Primates, Cercopithecidae)
provides insight into cranial form changes in response to rapid environmental changes.
American Journal of Biological Anthropology 178(3):417-436.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24505 

Gilbert C. C., Gilissen E., Arenson J. L., Patel B. A., Nakatsukasa M., Hart T. B., Hart J. A.,
Detwiler K. M., Sargis E. J. (2021). Morphological analysis of new Dryas Monkey specimens
from the central Congo Basin: Taxonomic considerations and an emended diagnosis. American
Journal of Physical Anthropology 176(3):361-389.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24278 

Arenson J. L., Sargis E. J., Hart J. A., Hart T. B., Detwiler K. M., & Gilbert C. C. (2020).
Skeletal morphology of the lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis) and the evolution of guenon
locomotor behavior. American Journal of Physical Anthropology