Abstract
BackgroundBats of the family Phyllostomidae show a unique diversity in feeding specializations. This taxon includes species that are highly specialized on insects, blood, small vertebrates, fruits or nectar, and pollen. Feeding specialization is accompanied by morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations. Several attempts were made to resolve the phylogenetic relationships within this family in order to reconstruct the evolutionary transitions accompanied by nutritional specialization. Nevertheless, the evolution of nectarivory remained equivocal.ResultsPhylogenetic reconstructions, based on a concatenated nuclear-and mitochondrial data set, revealed a paraphyletic relationship of nectarivorous phyllostomid bats. Our phylogenetic reconstructions indicate that the nectarivorous genera Lonchophylla and Lionycteris are closer related to mainly frugivorous phyllostomids of the subfamilies Rhinophyllinae, Stenodermatinae, Carolliinae, and the insectivorous Glyphonycterinae rather than to nectarivorous bats of the Glossophaginae. This suggests an independent origin of morphological adaptations to a nectarivorous lifestyle within Lonchophyllinae and Glossophaginae. Molecular clock analysis revealed a relatively short time frame of about ten million years for the divergence of subfamilies.ConclusionsOur study provides strong support for diphyly of nectarivorous phyllostomids. This is remarkable, since their morphological adaptations to nutrition, like elongated rostrums and tongues, reduced teeth and the ability to use hovering flight while ingestion, closely resemble each other. However, more precise examinations of their tongues (e.g. type and structure of papillae and muscular innervation) revealed levels of difference in line with an independent evolution of nectarivory in these bats.
Highlights
Bats of the family Phyllostomidae show a unique diversity in feeding specializations
We provide a well-supported phylogenetic estimate of phyllostomid bats based on a large molecular data set, comprising 10396 bp from a total of twelve nuclear-and mitochondrial genes, and try to clarify phylogenetic relationships among nectarivorous taxa by testing whether they share a close common ancestry
Phylogeny of the Phyllostomidae Our molecular phylogenetic reconstructions based on more than 10 kb DNA sequences obtained high bootstrap support for almost all nodes and challenges several phylogenetic relationships derived from morphological data sets
Summary
Bats of the family Phyllostomidae show a unique diversity in feeding specializations. They range from insect-to diverse vegetable-feeding strategies, as well as omnivory, carnivory, and even blood-feeding [816] This ecological diversification is accompanied by morphological, behavioural and physiological adaptations [4,9,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32]. A striking example is specialization for nectarivory, with several species feeding primarily on nectar These bats have the ability to hover in front of a plant, while drinking nectar with their elongated and extensile tongues adorned with brush-like papillae and grooves for ingestion of nectar [3,26,29,30,33,34,35,36,37].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
