Cranial size and shape variation in Afrotropical Otomops (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Molossidae): testing species limits using a morphometric approach

Abstract

The taxonomy of the Old World bat genus Otomops (Chiroptera: Molossidae) has been the subject of considerable debate. The failure of classical morphological studies to provide consistent patterns regarding interspecific relationships within Otomops has limited any understanding of the evolutionary history of the genus. We used traditional and geometric morphometric approaches to establish the species limits of taxa from sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Madagascar. Morphometric data supported the recent recognition of three distinct Afrotropical taxa: Otomops madagascariensis from Madagascar; Otomops martiensseni s.s. from southern, eastern, central, and western Africa; and an undescribed taxon from north-east Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Analyses of craniodental measurements and landmark-based data showed significant cranial size and shape divergence between the three taxa. Cranial size and shape variation within Afro-Arabian Otomops were strongly influenced by altitude, seasonality of precipitation, and precipitation in the driest month. Based on morphometric patterns and molecular divergence estimates, we suggest that morphological evolution within Afro-Arabian Otomops occurred in response to the fluctuating climate during the Pleistocene on the one hand, and the increasing aridity and seasonality over north-eastern Africa on the other. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 910-925.