Paraphyly of the Pipistrelles (Pipistrellus; Vespertilionidae) is Confirmed by the Analysis of the Nuclear Gene Markers.

Abstract

There are evidences that the genus Pipistrellus (true pipistrelles) in its current understanding may be paraphyletic. We have studied for the first time the phylogenetic relationships between the majority of supraspecific taxa of the subtribe Pipistrellina based on the analysis of the sequences of three nuclear genes (RAG2, APOB, and DMP1). Our data support the monophyly of the subtribe itself, but definitely show that the genus Pipistrellus in the modern sense is paraphyletic with respect to noctules, Nyctalus, and thick thumb pipistrelles, Glischropus (which both are morphologically distinct taxa). Moreover, noctules are extremely close to the "western" clade of Pipistrellus. The latter genus should probably be divided into two or more separate genera, or Nyctalus and Glischropus should be treated as its subgenera.