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.

全球生物多样性正面临日益严重的威胁，物种在被描述之前就已经灭绝。马达加斯加的生物群代表了这种情况的一个极端例子，但更复杂的是，其许多特有的生物多样性都是神秘的。在这里，我们通过提出一个综合框架来说明澄清神秘多样化过程的最佳实践，该框架利用多条证据和分类单元信息的截止值来进行物种界定，同时特别强调通过距离识别隔离模式。我们系统地将这个框架应用于整个分类学上有争议的灵长类进化枝，即鼠狐猴（ Microcebus属，Cheirogaleidae科）。我们证明，物种多样性被高估主要是由于将地理变异解释为物种形成，这对进化多样化的潜在过程的推论可能存在偏差。经过修订的分类后，我们发现该属内的隐匿现象可以通过稳定选择和生态位多样化的中性过程所施加的形态停滞模型来最好地解释。最后，通过澄清物种限制和定义具有重要进化意义的单位，我们提供了新的保护优先事项，在一个可概括的框架中将基本目标和应用目标联系起来。