Morphological Phylogeny of the Bat Genus Platyrrhinus (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) with the Description of Four New Species

Abstract

Platyrrhinus, comprising 10 species of broad-nosed bats, is one of the most diverse genera in the Neotropical family Phyllostomidae. To evaluate the content and limits of this genus, the phylogenetic relationships among these species and other closely related taxa were examined using a data set of 60 morphological characters including external, cranial, dental, and post-cranial characters. Four species (Carollia subrufa, Sturnira erythromos, Uroderma magnirostrum, and Vampyrodes caraccioli) of the family Phyllostomidae were used as outgroups to test the monophyly of Platyrrhinus and to resolve intrageneric relationships.Parsimony analysis resulted in two most parsimonious trees. The results support Platyrrhinus monophyly with a bootstrap value of 84% and a Bremer support of 3. Three synapomorphies are recognized for the genus. The results also support the recognition of P. umbratus as a junior synonym of P. dorsalis, the division of P. dorsalis into three distinct species, and the discovery of two new species previously considered part of P. helleri and P. vittatus. Taxonomic diagnoses of all the species of Platyrrhinus based on character optimizations as well as descriptions of four new species are presented. This revision brings the total number of species of Platyrrhinus to 14, making it the most speciose genus in the family Phyllostomidae.