Abstract
Recent systematic studies of the tribe Plecotini have generated two alternative phylogenetic hierarchies: ( Barbastella ( Corynorhinus ( Plecotus ( Idionycteris Euderma )))); and ( Euderma \[including Idionycteris \] ( Barbastella ( Plecotus Corynorhinus ))). To test these hypotheses we examined 44–45 morphological and 11 karyological characters of 10 plecotine species, including Otonycteris hemprichii . Character states for the hypothetical ancestor were inferred by evaluation of selected outgroup taxa: Rhogeessa tumida, Nycticeius humeralis, Eptesicus fuscus, Myotis lucifugus, M. ciliolabrum , and Miniopterus schreibersi . The most parsimonious trees, identical in topology but different in character-state optimization, were congruent with the systematic hierarchy of Plecotini suggested by the first hypothesis. Otonycteris branched off before Corynorhinus . These results strongly support separation of Corynorhinus as an independent genus and limitation of Plecotus to Palaearctic species. The two highly derived taxa, Idionycteris phyllotis and Euderma maculatum , seem to be sufficiently different from each other to be regarded as genetically distinct. It is proposed that the tribe Plecotini originated in the eastern hemisphere.
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