A new species of long-eared bat (Plecotus; Vespertilionidae, Mammalia) from Ethiopia (original) (raw)
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Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2020
Vespertilionidae (class Mammalia) constitutes the largest family of bats, with ~500 described species. Nonetheless, the systematic relationships within this family are poorly known, especially among the pipistrelle-like bats of the tribes Vespertilionini and Pipistrellini. Perhaps as a result of their drab pelage and lack of obvious morphological characters, the genus and species limits of pipistrelle-like bats remain poorly resolved, particularly in Africa, where more than one-fifth of all vesper bat species occur. Further exacerbating the problem is the accelerating description of new species within these groups. In this study, we attempt to resolve the systematic relationships among the pipistrelle-like bats of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar and provide a more stable framework for future systematic efforts. Our systematic inferences are based on extensive genetic and morphological sampling of > 400 individuals covering all named genera and the majority of described African ...
Fontiers in Zoology, 2013
Introduction: The Vespertilionidae is the largest family of bats, characterized by high occurrence of morphologically convergent groups, which impedes the study of their evolutionary history. The situation is even more complicated in the tropics, where certain regions remain under-sampled. Results: Two hundred and thirteen vespertilionid bats from Senegal (West Africa) were studied with the use of non-differentially stained karyotypes and multi-locus sequence data analysed with maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. These bats were identified as 10 different taxa, five of which were distinctive from their nominate species (Pipistrellus hesperidus, Nycticeinops schlieffenii, Scotoecus hirundo, Neoromicia nana and N. somalica), based on both karyotypes and molecular data. These five cryptic taxa are unrelated, suggesting that these West African populations have long been isolated from other African regions. Additionally, we phylogenetically analysed 166 vespertilionid taxa from localities worldwide using GenBank data (some 80% of the genera of the family) and 14 representatives of closely related groups, together with our Senegalese specimens. The systematic position of several taxa differed from previous studies and the tribes Pipistrellini and Vespertilionini were redefined. The African Pipistrellus rueppellii was basal to the Pipistrellus/Nyctalus clade and the Oriental species Glischropus tylopus was basal to the East Asian pipistrelles within the tribe Pipistrellini. The African genus Neoromicia was confirmed to be diphyletic. Based on GenBank data, Eptesicus was polyphyletic, with the Asian E. nasutus and E. dimissus both supported as phylogenetically distinct from the Eptesicus clade. The subfamily Scotophilinae was confirmed as one of the basal branches of Vespertilionidae. Conclusions: New taxa and new systematic arrangements show that there is still much to resolve in the vespertilionids and that West Africa is a biogeographic hotspot with more diversity to be discovered.
Acta Chiropterologica , 2016
Tropical West Africa has a high diversity of bats, which are relatively poorly studied. In this baseline biodiversity assessment of bats in the Simandou Mountain Range of southeastern Guinea (Guinea Forestière), 312 individual bats belonging to 26 species were captured, four of which represent new species records for the country. Combined with the results of a previous survey, 35 bat species have been recorded at Simandou to date, including a new species (Neoromicia sp. nov.), which we describe here, and an additional species potentially new to science. A neotype for Neoromicia tenuipinnis is designated. We present an annotated checklist of the bats at Simandou and neighbouring sites, including some pertinent field notes on their habitat requirements and conservation status. Furthermore, we discuss the estimated maximum species richness and show that Simandou supports one of the most diverse bat communities in tropical Africa. Finally, we outline conservation concerns with respect to bats in the face of the iron ore extraction activities at Simandou.
Recent Changes in African Bat Taxonomy ( 2012-2013 ) . Part II
2013
Observations, Discussions and Updates Observations, Discussions and Updates Megaloglossus azagnyi Nesi, Kadjo and Hassanin FAMILY PTEROPODIDAE Common name: Western Woermann's Fruit Bat (Eng.). NESI et al. (2012) examined cytochrome b sequences, and found West African Megaloglossus to be significantly different from Central African specimens. Therefore they described a new species, which they named after the Azagny National Park, where the type specimen was collected. This species occurs in Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia and probably Guinea and Sierra Leone to Ghana and Togo.
PLoS ONE, 2012
Gigantism and dwarfism evolve in vertebrates restricted to islands. We describe four new species in the Rhinolophus hildebrandtii species-complex of horseshoe bats, whose evolution has entailed adaptive shifts in body size. We postulate that vicissitudes of palaeoenvironments resulted in gigantism and dwarfism in habitat islands fragmented across eastern and southern Africa. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences recovered two clades of R. hildebrandtii senso lato which are paraphyletic with respect to a third lineage (R. eloquens). Lineages differ by 7.7 to 9.0% in cytochrome b sequences. Clade 1 includes R. hildebrandtii sensu stricto from the east African highlands and three additional vicariants that speciated across an Afromontane archipelago through the Plio-Pleistocene, extending from the Kenyan Highlands through the Eastern Arc, northern Mozambique and the Zambezi Escarpment to the eastern Great Escarpment of South Africa. Clade 2 comprises one species confined to lowland savanna habitats (Mozambique and Zimbabwe). A third clade comprises R. eloquens from East Africa. Speciation within Clade 1 is associated with fixed differences in echolocation call frequency, and cranial shape and size in populations isolated since the late Pliocene (ca 3.74 Mya). Relative to the intermediate-sized savanna population (Clade 2), these island-populations within Clade 1 are characterised by either gigantism (South African eastern Great Escarpment and Mts Mabu and Inago in Mozambique) or dwarfism (Lutope-Ngolangola Gorge, Zimbabwe and Soutpansberg Mountains, South Africa). Sympatry between divergent clades (Clade 1 and Clade 2) at Lutope-Ngolangola Gorge (NW Zimbabwe) is attributed to recent range expansions. We propose an ''Allometric Speciation Hypothesis'', which attributes the evolution of this species complex of bats to divergence in constant frequency (CF) sonar calls. The origin of species-specific peak frequencies (overall range = 32 to 46 kHz) represents the allometric effect of adaptive divergence in skull size, represented in the evolution of gigantism and dwarfism in habitat islands. Citation: Taylor PJ, Stoffberg S, Monadjem A, Schoeman MC, Bayliss J, et al. (2012) Four New Bat Species (Rhinolophus hildebrandtii Complex) Reflect Plio-Pleistocene Divergence of Dwarfs and Giants across an Afromontane Archipelago. PLoS ONE 7(9): e41744.
First records of bats from the Alatish National Park, north-western Ethiopia (Chiroptera)
Lynx, new series
The paper presents results of a first attempt to survey bats of the Alatish National Park (northwestern Ethiopia). Twenty-one bat species belonging to eight families and twelve genera were documented for the first time in the Park, at least two bat species (Hipposideros abae, Pipistrellus nanulus) were found new for the fauna of Ethiopia. The Alatish National Park is an area of high conservation value due to its high bat species diversity and a complex structure of the fauna including elements with various zoogeographic affinities.
A systematic review of the African bat genus Scotophilus (Vespertilionidae)
The systematics of African members of the genus Seotaphilus has been confused and at times controversial. Apart from size and pelage color, they do not show many non-mensural differences. Multivariate statistical analyses are used with seven cranial and one wing measurement on over 2000 specimens.Six species are recognized. Two species, S. nux and S. nueella, are restricted to the high forest zone in West and Central Africa. The other four species, S. dinganii,, S. l&ucog aster 3 S. nigrita., and 5. viridis, occur throughout sub-Saharan Africa in the savanna vegetation zones. African mainland distribution of the genus is from Senegal and Mauritania in the west to Ethiopia and Somalia in the east, and throughout Central Africa to southern Africa.