Systematic Status of African Populations of Long-eared Bats Genus Plecotus (Mammalia: Chiroptera) (original) (raw)
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Keys to the Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of East Africa
Fieldiana Life and Earth Sciences, 2012
Fieldiana is a peer-reviewed monographic series published by the Field Museum of Natural History. Fieldiana focuses on midlength monographs and scientific papers pertaining to collections and research at the Field Museum. Fieldiana appears in two series: Fieldiana Life and Earth Sciences and Fieldiana Anthropology. Eligibility Field Museum curators, research associates, and full-time scientific professional staff may submit papers for consideration. Edited volumes pertaining to Field Museum collections may also be submitted for consideration under a subsidy arrangement. The submission and peer review of these chaptered volumes should be arranged well in advance with the managing scientific editor and the appropriate associate editor. Submission Procedures Submission procedures are detailed in a separate document called "SUBMISSIONS PROCEDURES" available on the Fieldiana web site: (http://www.fieldmuseum.org/explore/department/publications/fieldiana) under the Author Information page. All manuscripts should be submitted to the managing scientific editor. Cover: A mosaic of images (clockwise from upper left): Geoffroy's horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus clivosus (Rhinolophidae); the junior and senior authors; Large-eared free-tailed bat, Otomops martiensseni (Molossidae); and Yellow-winged bat, Lavia frons (Megadermatidae). Bat photos by B. D. Patterson; author photo by C. W. Dick.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2004
Long-eared bats of the genus Plecotus are widespread and common over most of the western Palaearctic. Based on recent molecular evidence, they proved to represent a complex of several cryptic species, with three new species being described from Europe in 2002. Evolutionary relationships among the different lineages are still fragmentary because of the limited geographic coverage of previous studies. Here we analyze Plecotus mitochondrial DNA sequences from the entire Mediterranean region and Atlantic Islands. Phylogenetic reconstructions group these western Palaearctic Plecotus into two major clades which split at least 5 Myr ago and that are each subdivided into further subgroups. An Ôauritus groupÕ includes the traditional P. auritus species and its sister taxon P. macrobullaris ( ¼ P. alpinus) plus related specimens from the Middle East. P. auritus and P. macrobullaris have broadly overlapping distributions in Europe, although the latter is apparently more restricted to mountain ranges. The other major clade, the Ôaustriacus group,Õ includes the European species P. austriacus and at least two other related taxa from North Africa (including P. teneriffae from the Canary Islands), the Balkans and Anatolia (P. kolombatovici). The sister species of this Ôaustriacus groupÕ is P. balensis, an Ethiopian endemic. Phylogenetic reconstructions further suggest that P. austriacus reached Madeira during its relatively recent westwards expansion through Europe, while the Canary Islands were colonized by a North African ancestor. Although colonization of the two groups of Atlantic Islands by Plecotus bats followed very distinct routes, neither involved lineages from the Ôauritus group.Õ Furthermore, the Strait of Gibraltar perfectly segregates the distinct lineages, which confirms its key role as a geographic barrier. This study also stresses the biogeographical importance of the Mediterranean region, and particularly of North Africa, in understanding the evolution of the western Palaearctic biotas.
Maltese bats show phylogeographic affiliation with North-Africa : implications for conservation
Hystrix-italian Journal of Mammalogy, 2019
In the Mediterranean region, cryptic diversity of bats is common. As distinct genetic lineages should be managed independently for conservation, insight into bat phylogeography is important. The Maltese islands are located in the centre of the Mediterranean between North Africa and Sicily and are densely populated. At present, it is thought that at least seven species of bats are native, but phylogeographic affiliations remain largely unexplored. Therefore, we sequenced a ca. 540 bp fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene from 23 bats, which were captured during the citizen-science project Akustika. We found two morphologically cryptic lineages common in North Africa, Plecotus gaisleri and a mainly North-African lineage of Hypsugo savii (named Hypsugo cf. darwinii in some recent studies). We also recorded two Pipistrellus species. The P. kuhlii haplotype belonged to a lineage present in North-Africa and across the Mediterranean. Within P. pipistrellus we found two novel haplotyp...
2014
A complete list of bat records available from Libya was compiled from literature and from new records, based on field studies and examination of museum specimens. The record review is complemented by distribution maps, summaries of distributional status of the particular species, files of field data, findings on feeding ecology, observations of morphology and variation, and records of arthropod ectoparasites. From the territory of Libya, at least 138 records of 18 bat species belonging to six families are known; viz. (12). Rhinolophus ferrumequinum is here reported from the country for the first time. Since the species status of Pipistrellus deserti has been reasonably doubted, this taxon is no more included in the faunal list of Libya. Reviews of taxonomic opinions concerning the Libyan populations of the particular species, supplemented in some cases by original analyses, are added. Arthropod ectoparasites were newly collected from eight species of bats in Libya; at least 19 species of ectoparasites belonging to nine families were recorded in total. The following taxa are here reported from the country for the first time: Argas vespertilionis (Latreille, 1802) (from Rhinopoma cystops, Eptesicus isabellinus, Pipistrellus kuhlii and Plecotus christii), Araeopsylla gestroi (Rothschild, 1906) (from Tadarida teniotis), Steatonyssus occidentalis (Ewing, 1933) (from Myotis punicus), S. periblepharus Kolenati, 1858 (from Pipistrellus kuhlii), Parasteatonyssus hoogstraali (Keegan, 1956) (from Tadarida teniotis), and Spinturnix myoti (Kolenati, 1856) (from Myotis punicus and Tadarida teniotis)
2008
Otomops martiensseni is sparsely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa and southwestern Arabia (Yemen). Otomops madagascariensis from the dry portions of Madagascar is widely recognised to be a distinct species. Based on mitochondrial DNA sequences of the cytochrome b gene (1,004 base pairs; n = 50) and the control region (D-loop, 290 base pairs; n = 52), two Oriental outgroup species (O. wroughtoni and O. cf. formosus) formed a monophyletic clade that was the sister group to the Afro-Malagasy taxa, composed of O. martiensseni and O. madagascariensis. Within the Afro-Malagasy clade, we discovered three well-supported but genetically similar clades (inter-clade genetic distances of 3.4-4.4%) from 1) north-eastern Africa and Arabia, 2) African mainland except northeast Africa, and 3) Madagascar. Taken together, haplotype networks, estimated divergence times, regional species richness and historical demographic data tentatively suggested dispersal from Asia to Africa and Madagascar. To understand ecological determinants of phylogeographic, biogeographic and genetic structure, we assessed the potential distribution of O. martiensseni throughout sub-Saharan Africa with ecological niche modelling (MaxEnt) based on known point localities (n = 60). The species is predicted to occur mainly in woodlands and forests and in areas of rough topography. Continuity of suitable habitats supported our inferred high levels of continental gene flow (relatively low genetic distances), and suggested that factors other than habitat suitability have resulted in the observed phylogeographic structure (e.g., seasonal mass migrations of insects that might be tracked by these bats). Based on a Bayesian relaxed clock approach and two fossil calibration dates, we estimated that African and Oriental clades diverged at 4.2 Mya, Malagasy and African clades at 1.5 Mya, and African clades 1 and 2 at 1.2 Mya. Integrating phylogenetic, phylogeographic, population genetic and ecological approaches holds promise for a better understanding of biodiversity patterns and evolutionary processes.
BMC Evolutionary Biology
Background: The Old World insectivorous bat genus Rhinolophus is highly speciose. Over the last 15 years, the number of its recognized species has grown from 77 to 106, but knowledge of their interrelationships has not kept pace. Species limits and phylogenetic relationships of this morphologically conservative group remain problematic due both to poor sampling across the Afrotropics and to repeated instances of mitochondrial-nuclear discordance. Recent intensive surveys in East Africa and neighboring regions, coupled with parallel studies by others in West Africa and in Southern Africa, offer a new basis for understanding its evolutionary history. Results: We investigated phylogenetic relationships and intraspecific genetic variation in the Afro-Palearctic clade of Rhinolophidae using broad sampling. We sequenced mitochondrial cytochrome-b (1140 bp) and four independent and informative nuclear introns (2611 bp) for 213 individuals and incorporated sequence data from 210 additional individuals on GenBank that together represent 24 of the 33 currently recognized Afrotropical Rhinolophus species. We addressed the widespread occurrence of mito-nuclear discordance in Rhinolophus by inferring concatenated and species tree phylogenies using only the nuclear data. Well resolved mitochondrial, concatenated nuclear, and species trees revealed phylogenetic relationships and population structure of the Afrotropical species and species groups. Conclusions: Multiple well-supported and deeply divergent lineages were resolved in each of the six African Rhinolophus species groups analyzed, suggesting as many as 12 undescribed cryptic species; these include several instances of sympatry among close relatives. Coalescent lineage delimitation offered support for new undescribed lineages in four of the six African groups in this study. On the other hand, two to five currently recognized species may be invalid based on combined mitochondrial and/or nuclear phylogenetic analyses. Validation of these cryptic lineages as species and formal relegation of current names to synonymy will require integrative taxonomic assessments involving morphology, ecology, acoustics, distribution, and behavior. The resulting phylogenetic framework offers a powerful basis for addressing questions regarding their ecology and evolution.
Bat fauna of Tunisia: review of records and new records, morphometrics and echolocation data
New records of 18 bat species from Tunisia are reported; these include Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros, R. euryale, R. mehelyi, R. blasii, Asellia tridens, Rhinopoma cystops, Tadarida teniotis, Miniopterus schreibersii, Eptesicus isabellinus, Pipistrellus cf. kuhlii, P. cf. pipistrellus, Otonycteris hemprichii, Plecotus gaisleri, Hypsugo cf. savii, Myotis capaccinii, M. emarginatus, and M. punicus. For at least five species, our records represent the first records in nearly last 30 years and we report for the first time on the possible presence of Nyctalus leisleri in northern Tunisia. We provide a critical review of records of Rhinolophus euryale and R. mehelyi from Tunisia, many of which were incorrect. We also propose a new synonymy for Rhinolophus (Euryalus) barbarus Andersen et Matschie, 1904 and R. (E.) meridionalis Andersen et Matschie, 1904.
During a field study carried out in the Tunisian National Park of El Feidja (Khroumiria region, NW Tunisia) in May 2000, we captured four species of bats never previously recorded in this area: the Mediterranean horseshoe bat Rhinolophus euryale, the greater horseshoe bat R. ferrumequinum, the Mehely's horseshoe bat R. mehelyi and the Geoffroy's bat Myotis emarginatus. Considering the already well-known diffusion of the Schreibers' bat Miniopterus schreibersi, the common pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, the lesser mouse-eared bat Myotis blythi and the greater mouse-eared bat Myotis myotis, these new records raise to 8 the species of bats known for the region. The mammalians' checklist of the Khroumiria region includes 27 species.