Geographic distribution and morphological variation in Mimon bennettii (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae)

Renato Gregorin,Vanessa R Furtado,Guilherme L Capusso

doi:10.1590/s0073-47212008000300017

Abstract

We studied discrete and quantitative data from 88 specimens of the subgenus Mimon previously identified as Mimon bennettii (Gray, 1838) and M. cozumelae Goldman, 1914 from diverse parts of their range. Our data indicate that specimens of Mimon bennetii in Brazil presented geographic variation in morphometrical characters and mosaic variation in qualitative traits. Specimens from the Cerrado biome collected in Brazilian states like Piaui, Tocantins, and Goiás have longer forearms than those distributed in the Atlantic and Amazon forested domains. Based on morphometrics, as showed by t-tests, specimens of M. bennettii from the Brazilian Cerrado resemble phenetically more with M. cozumelae than the M. bennettii from Atlantic Forest. Characters presently used to diagnosis M. cozumelae also were also recorded to M. bennettii in diverse parts of Brazil, making that validity of M. cozumelae questionable based on this kind of traits. This research also updated the geographic distribution to the M. bennettii in Brazil.

Highlights

Some authors for long have argued pro validity of two species for the subgenus Mimon and they have tentatively defended the position throughout different arguments, but mostly based on morphology in complement with those presented by GOLDMAN (1914) (DALQUEST, 1957; CARTER et al, 1966; GENOWAYS et al, 1981; SIMMONS & VOSS, 1998)
In Brazil, M. bennettii was restricted to southeastern Brazil (ORTEGA & ARITA, 1997; SIMMONS, 2005; WILLIAMS & GENOWAYS, 2007)
There is an old record for Corumbá, southwestern Brazil (MIRANDA-RIBEIRO, 1914), and more recently, individuals of M. bennettii were reported in Gruta Morro, Distrito Federal (BREDT et al, 1999), state of Paraná (MIRESTSKI, 2003), state of Santa Catarina (CHEREM et al, 2004), Mambaí, state of Goiás, (ESBÉRARD et al, 2005), and some localities in the state of Amapá (MARTINS et al, 2006)

Summary

Introduction

M. bennettii presently is restricted to South America, and Mimon cozumelae is known from southern Mexico to Colombia (SIMMONS, 2005; WILLIAMS & GENOWAYS, 2007). Two specimens collected in same site in the state of Amapá (IEPA 98 and 115), both identified as M. bennettii based on forearm length, presented variation, one with white wingtips while the other one showed dark wingtips.

Results

Conclusion