Bat Genus Research Articles

A new polytypic species of yellow-shouldered bats, genus Sturnira (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), from the Andean and coastal mountain systems of Venezuela and Colombia.

Sturnira is the most speciose genus of New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae). We name Sturnira adrianae, new species. This taxon is born polytypic, divided into a larger subspecies (S. a. adrianae) widespread in the mountains of northern and western Venezuela, and northern Colombia, and a smaller subspecies (S. a. caripana) endemic to the mountains of northeastern Venezuela. The new species inhabits evergreen, deciduous, and cloud forests at mainly medium (1000-2000 m) elevations. It has long been confused with S. ludovici, but it is more closely related to S. oporaphilum. It can be distinguished from other species of Sturnira by genetic data, and based on discrete and continuously varying characters. Within the genus, the new species belongs to a clade that also includes S. oporaphilum, S. ludovici, S. hondurensis, and S. burtonlimi. The larger new subspecies is the largest member of this clade. The two new subspecies are the most sexually dimorphic members of this clade. The smaller new subspecies is restricted to small mountain systems undergoing severe deforestation processes, therefore can be assigned to the Vulnerable (VU) conservation category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

33 million year old Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) and the rapid global radiation of modern bats.

The bat genus Myotis is represented by 120+ living species and 40+ extinct species and is found on every continent except Antarctica. The time of divergence of Myotis has been contentious as has the time and place of origin of its encompassing group the Vespertilionidae, the most diverse (450+ species) and widely distributed extant bat family. Fossil Myotis species are common, especially in Europe, beginning in the Miocene but earlier records are poor. Recent study of new specimens from the Belgian early Oligocene locality of Boutersem reveals the presence of a relatively large vespertilionid. Morphological comparison and phylogenetic analysis confirms that the new, large form can be confidently assigned to the genus Myotis, making this record the earliest known for that taxon and extending the temporal range of this extant genus to over 33 million years. This suggests that previously published molecular divergence dates for crown myotines (Myotis) are too young by at least 7 million years. Additionally, examination of first fossil appearance data of 1,011 extant placental mammal genera indicates that only 13 first occurred in the middle to late Paleogene (48 to 33 million years ago) and of these, six represent bats, including Myotis. Paleogene members of both major suborders of Chiroptera (Yangochiroptera and Yinpterochiroptera) include extant genera indicating early establishment of successful and long-term adaptive strategies as bats underwent an explosive radiation near the beginning of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum in the Old World. A second bat adaptive radiation in the New World began coincident with the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum.

Timing and patterns of diversification in the Neotropical bat genus Pteronotus (Mormoopidae)

We investigate the biogeographic processes related to the origin and current patterns of distribution of the extant species of the genus Pteronotus. This clade of insectivorous bats is widely distributed in the Neotropical Region and has recently gone through a taxonomic update which increased more than twice its diversity. Using six molecular markers of 15 Pteronotus lineages ranging from Mexico to Central Brazil, we reconstruct a time-calibrated tree and infer molecular evolutionary rates for this bat genus. In addition, estimates of range evolution across phylogeny were obtained through statistical model testing among six different biogeographic models. The origin of the genus Pteronotus occurred approximately 16million years ago (Ma), with initial cladogenesis events being evenly distributed across the phylogeny. Divergence between most closely related species is recent, falling in the Pleistocene period less than 2.6Ma. Mainland lineages present congruent patterns of north versus south continent splitting while insular clades differ in their time of arrival in the Caribbean Islands. Temporal and geographic range estimates for early nodes of Pteronotus phylogeny suggest a central role of Neogene tectonic reorganizations of Central America in the group diversification process. Also, South American colonization by Pteronotus occurred early in the genus history. Founder-event speciation was an important mode of lineage splitting in Pteronotus, with two independent dispersal jumps having occurred to the Greater Antilles. Finally, Pleistocenic sea-level variation and climatic oscillations are possibly associated with divergence between sister-species and recent ages of MRCA for Pteronotus species.

Genetic diversity of coronaviruses in bats in Lao PDR and Cambodia

South-East Asia is a hot spot for emerging zoonotic diseases, and bats have been recognized as hosts for a large number of zoonotic viruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), responsible for acute respiratory syndrome outbreaks. Thus, it is important to expand our knowledge of the presence of viruses in bats which could represent a risk to humans. Coronaviruses (CoVs) have been reported in bat species from Thailand, China, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines. However no such work was conducted in Cambodia or Lao PDR. Between 2010 and 2013, 1965 bats were therefore sampled at interfaces with human populations in these two countries. They were tested for the presence of coronavirus by consensus reverse transcription-PCR assay. A total of 93 samples (4.7%) from 17 genera of bats tested positive. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of potentially 37 and 56 coronavirus belonging to alpha-coronavirus (αCoV) and beta-CoV (βCoV), respectively. The βCoVs group is known to include some coronaviruses highly pathogenic to human, such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. All coronavirus sequences generated from frugivorous bats (family Pteropodidae) (n=55) clustered with other bat βCoVs of lineage D, whereas one coronavirus from Pipistrellus coromandra fell in the lineage C of βCoVs which also includes the MERS-CoV. αCoVs were all detected in various genera of insectivorous bats and clustered with diverse bat αCoV sequences previously published. A closely related strain of PEDV, responsible for severe diarrhea in pigs (PEDV-CoV), was detected in 2 Myotis bats. We highlighted the presence and the high diversity of coronaviruses circulating in bats from Cambodia and Lao PDR. Three new bat genera and species were newly identified as host of coronaviruses, namely Macroglossus sp., Megaerops niphanae and Myotis horsfieldii

Nutlet is a little nut: disclosure of the phylogenetic position of Robbins' house batScotophilus nucella(Vespertilionidae)

Abstract. Evolutionary parallelism complicates taxonomy of the bat genus Scotophilus. This implies the necessity for a careful examination of morphologically similar species. Robbins' — or “nutlet” — house bat Scotophilus nucella is an insufficiently known taxon of the African rainforest zone based on just a handful of recorded specimens previously included in the nut-coloured house bat S. nux. Because its phylogenetic relationship to S. nux and other congeneric species is unknown, it was assessed using analysis of DNA sequences of single mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences, S. nucella was placed in sister position to S. nux. A genetic divergence of 7.8–9.4 % between them supports the recognition of S. nucella as a distinct species. Analysis of partial sequences of the nuclear zinc finger protein gene on the Y-chromosome corroborated the sister relationship of S. nucella and S. nux, while showing sufficient differences to consider them as two species. Mitocho...

Pinpointing the vesper bat transposon revolution using the Miniopterus natalensis genome.

BackgroundAround 40 million years ago DNA transposons began accumulating in an ancestor of bats in the family Vespertilionidae. Since that time, Class II transposons have been continuously reinvading and accumulating in vespertilionid genomes at a rate that is unprecedented in mammals. Miniopterus (Miniopteridae), a genus of long-fingered bats that was recently elevated from Vespertilionidae, is the sister taxon to the vespertilionids and is often used as an outgroup when studying transposable elements in vesper bats. Previous wet-lab techniques failed to identify Helitrons, TcMariners, or hAT transposons in Miniopterus. Limitations of those methods and ambiguous results regarding the distribution of piggyBac transposons left some questions as to the distribution of Class II elements in this group. The recent release of the Miniopterus natalensis genome allows for transposable element discovery with a higher degree of precision.ResultsHere we analyze the transposable element content of M. natalensis to pinpoint with greater accuracy the taxonomic distribution of Class II transposable elements in bats. These efforts demonstrate that, compared to the vespertilionids, Class II TEs are highly mutated and comprise only a small portion of the M. natalensis genome. Despite the limited Class II content, M. natalensis possesses a limited number of lineage-specific, low copy number piggyBacs and shares several TcMariner families with vespertilionid bats. Multiple efforts to identify Helitrons, one of the major TE components of vesper bat genomes, using de novo repeat identification and structural based searches failed.ConclusionsThese observations combined with previous results inform our understanding of the events leading to the unique Class II element acquisition that characterizes vespertilionids. While it appears that a small number of TcMariner and piggyBac elements were deposited in the ancestral Miniopterus + vespertilionid genome, these elements are not present in M. natalensis genome at high copy number. Instead, this work indicates that the vesper bats alone experienced the expansion of TEs ranging from Helitrons to piggyBacs to hATs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13100-016-0071-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A Second Endemic Land Mammal for the Hawaiian Islands: A New Genus and Species of Fossil Bat (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

ABSTRACT Located over 3800 km from the nearest continent, the Hawaiian Islands have previously been thought to support only one endemic land mammal, the extant Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus semotus), a taxon that apparently initially dispersed from mainland North America between 10,000 and 7000 years ago. Some uncertainty exists regarding the status of this taxon (i.e., whether or not populations representing more recent invasions of L. cinereus from North America are exchanging genes with the older lineage, and whether or not semotus represents a distinct species), but all researchers agree that hoary bats are the only endemic land mammals extant in the islands today. However, fossil evidence indicates that the Hawaiian Islands once supported another quite different endemic bat species that is now extinct. Skeletal remains of a new genus and species of vespertilionid bat are herein described from various Late Pleistocene and Holocene/Recent deposits on the five largest Hawaiian Islands. The new t...

Genome-wide data reveal cryptic diversity and genetic introgression in an Oriental cynopterine fruit bat radiation.

BackgroundThe Oriental fruit bat genus Cynopterus, with several geographically overlapping species, presents an interesting case study to evaluate the evolutionary significance of coexistence versus isolation. We examined the morphological and genetic variability of congeneric fruit bats Cynopterus sphinx and C. brachyotis using 405 samples from two natural contact zones and 17 allopatric locations in the Indian subcontinent; and investigated the population differentiation patterns, evolutionary history, and the possibility of cryptic diversity in this species pair.ResultsAnalysis of microsatellites, cytochrome b gene sequences, and restriction digestion based genome-wide data revealed that C. sphinx and C. brachyotis do not hybridize in contact zones. However, cytochrome b gene sequences and genome-wide SNP data helped uncover a cryptic, hitherto unrecognized cynopterine lineage in northeastern India coexisting with C. sphinx. Further analyses of shared variation of SNPs using Patterson’s D statistics suggest introgression between this lineage and C. sphinx. Multivariate analyses of morphology using genetically classified grouping confirmed substantial morphological overlap between C. sphinx and C. brachyotis, specifically in the high elevation contact zones in southern India.ConclusionOur results uncover novel diversity and detect a pattern of genetic introgression in a cryptic radiation of bats, demonstrating the complicated nature of lineage diversification in this poorly understood taxonomic group. Our results highlight the importance of genome-wide data to study evolutionary processes of morphologically similar species pairs. Our approach represents a significant step forward in evolutionary research on young radiations of non-model species that may retain the ability of interspecific gene flow.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0599-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A new species of Eumops (Chiroptera: Molossidae) from southeastern Brazil and Bolivia

Eumops is the most speciose and morphologically diverse genus of Neotropical molossid bats presently encompassing 16 species. Here were described a new species in the genus based on three specimens from southeastern Bolivia and Brazil. A combined phylogenetic analysis using Cytochrome b gene sequences and morphological data revealed that the specimens form a sister-group of Eumops perotis+Eumops trumbulli and are 7.9% diverged from E. perotis at Cytochrome b. Three morphological autapomorphies, the shape of rostrum and the position and size of first upper premolar, distinguish new species from E. perotis and E. trumbulli. The combination of morphological and molecular characters justifies the description of a new species.

Karyotype of three Lonchophylla species (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) from Southeastern Brazil

Lonchophylla Thomas, 1903 is a Neotropical bat genus that comprises 12 species, with little cytogenetic information available. Here we present the description of the karyotype of three species collected in Southeastern Brazil. Lonchophylla bokermanni Sazima, Vizotto & Taddei, 1978, Lonchophylla dekeyseri Taddei, Vizotto & Sazima, 1983, and Lonchophylla peracchii Dias, Moratelli & Esberard, 2013 showed the same diploid number 2n = 28 and the same autosomal fundamental number FNa = 50, in both Lonchophylla bokermanni and Lonchophylla peracchii. We observed that the karyotypes were also cytogenetically similar when we compared the studied species with other species within the same genus. It is therefore not possible to differentiate the species using only karyotypes with conventional staining. However, this information increases the knowledge of the genus and can be one more important character for a better phylogenetic comprehension of this taxon.

First evidence of frugivory in Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae, Myotinae).

BackgroundMyotis occurs from tropical to temperate regions throughout the globe, and it is the largest bat genus with more than 100 species. Most species are insect-eaters, but a few also feed on other invertebrates and fishes; there is no confirmed evidence of a plant item in their diet.New informationDuring fieldwork in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, small seeds were retrieved from the feces of one adult female of the Black Myotis, Myotis nigricans—one of the most common Neotropical bats. In a germination experiment, 40% of those seeds grew into seedlings. Our findings are the first evidence of fruit consumption for any Myotis species. We reject a possible contamination because the cotton bag was never used before for bats. This study is the first evidence of frugivory in the genus Myotis.

Taxonomía y distribución de Vampyriscus brocki Peterson, 1968 (Phyllostomidae: Chiroptera) en Perú y primer registro para Ucayali

Introduction: The bat genus Vampyriscus Thomas, 1990 (Phyllostomidae) comprises V. bidens, V. brocki, and V. nymphaea, all occurring in the Neotropics, but only the first two are in Peru. We review the taxonomy and distribution of V. brocki in Peru, provide a new record, and compare with other similar species. Methods: Taxonomy and distribution of Vampyriscus brocki were reviewed based on voucher specimens and literature, morphologically compared with similar species, Vampyressa thyone and Vampyriscus bidens, and statistically analyzed with ANOVA (α = 0.05) and PCA. Results: Distribution of V. brocki comprises four departments in Peru from 120 to 1,000 m, including the first report presented here for Ucayali. Discrete and discriminating characters between V. brocki, V. bidens and Vampyressa thyone are provided, which is significantly supported by ANOVA (α = 0.05), and PCA. Discussion: Vampyriscus brocki from Peru are smaller than the specimens from French Guyana, suggesting the existence of interspecific variation. Presence of V. brocki is considered rare, migration and specialization for canopy are discussed as possible explanations. A biased sexual ratio in capture is found, with the females more represented than males. The sexual “disproportion” is probably because females fall more in the mist nets to explore more resources in more rainforest layers. The species has not yet been assessed by the IUCN Red List; we suggest it should be considered as Data Deficient.

Novel Paramyxoviruses in Bats from Sub-Saharan Africa, 2007-2012.

As part of a larger survey for detection of pathogens among wildlife in sub-Saharan Africa conducted during 2007–2012, multiple diverse paramyxovirus sequences were detected in renal tissues of bats. Phylogenetic analysis supports the presence of at least 2 major viral lineages and suggests that paramyxoviruses are strongly associated with several bat genera.

Targeted Capture of Phylogenetically Informative Ves SINE Insertions in Genus Myotis.

Identification of retrotransposon insertions in nonmodel taxa can be technically challenging and costly. This has inhibited progress in understanding retrotransposon insertion dynamics outside of a few well-studied species. To address this problem, we have extended a retrotransposon-based capture and sequence method (ME-Scan [mobile element scanning]) to identify insertions belonging to the Ves family of short interspersed elements (SINEs) across seven species of the bat genus Myotis. We identified between 120,000 and 143,000 SINE insertions in six taxa lacking a draft genome by comparing to the M. lucifugus reference genome. On average, each Ves insertion was sequenced to 129.6 × coverage. When mapped back to the M. lucifugus reference genome, all insertions were confidently assigned within a 10-bp window. Polymorphic Ves insertions were identified in each taxon based on their mapped locations. Using cross-species comparisons and the identified insertion positions, a presence–absence matrix was created for approximately 796,000 insertions. Dollo parsimony analysis of more than 85,000 phylogenetically informative insertions recovered strongly supported, monophyletic clades that correspond with the biogeography of each taxa. This phylogeny is similar to previously published mitochondrial phylogenies, with the exception of the placement of M. vivesi. These results support the utility of our variation on ME-Scan to identify polymorphic retrotransposon insertions in taxa without a reference genome and for large-scale retrotransposon-based phylogenetics.

Monochoroterpes, a replacement name for Monophyllus Kluge, 2012 (Insecta: Ephemeroptera), nec Monophyllus Leach, 1821 (Mammalia: Chiroptera).

The genus group name Monophyllus Kluge, 2012 was established to include a single species of the mayfly family Leptophlebiidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from Hainan Island, China, Choroterpes (Monophyllus) monophyllus Kluge, 2012. Unfortunately, this name is preoccupied by Monophyllus Leach, 1821, a genus of Phyllostomidae bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from the Antilles (type species: M. redmani Leach, 1821: 76). Therefore, we propose a replacement name for the mayfly genus group as follows.

Description of a new species of the Miniopterus aelleni group (Chiroptera:Miniopteridae) from upland areas of central and northern Madagascar.

Recent molecular genetic work, combined with morphological comparisons, on Malagasy members of the bat genus Miniopterus (Family Miniopteridae), has uncovered a number of cryptic species. Based on recently collected specimens and associated tissues, we examine patterns of variation in M. aelleni, the holotype of which comes from Ankarana in northern Madagascar. Using molecular genetic (mitochondrial cytochrome b) and morphological characters we describe a new species, M. ambohitrensis sp. nov. In northern Madagascar, M. ambohitrensis and M. aelleni are allopatric, but occur in relatively close geographical contact (approximately 40 km direct line distance) with M. ambohitrensis found at Montagne d'Ambre in montane humid forest and M. aelleni sensu stricto at Ankarana in dry deciduous forest. Morphologically, this new taxon is differentiated from M. aelleni based on pelage coloration, external measurements, craniodental differences, and tragus shape. Comparisons using 725 bp of cytochrome b found a divergence of 1.1% within M. aelleni sensu stricto, 0.8% within M. ambohitrensis, and 3.3% between these two clades. The two sister species do not demonstrate acoustical differences based on recordings made in a flight cage. Miniopterus ambohitrensis is known from four localities in the northern and central portions of Madagascar, all from montane regions and across an elevational range from about 800 to 1600 m; its calculated "Extent of occurrence" is 15,143 km2. It is possible that this species is at least partially migratory.

A molecular and morphological investigation of species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships in Australian free-tailed bats Mormopterus (Chiroptera : Molossidae)

The taxonomic uncertainty surrounding several prominent genera of Australian microbat has been a long-standing impediment to research and conservation efforts on these groups. The free-tail bat genus Mormopterus is perhaps the most significant example, with a long history of acknowledged species-level confusion. This study uses a combined molecular and morphological approach to conduct a comprehensive assessment of species and subgeneric boundaries, between-species phylogenetic affinities and within-species phylogeographic structure in Australian members of Mormopterus. Phylogenetic analyses based on 759 base pairs of the NADH Dehydrogenase subunit 2 mitochondrial gene were concordant with species boundaries delineated using an expanded allozyme dataset and by phallic morphology, and also revealed strong phylogeographic structure within two species. The levels of divergence evident in the molecular and morphological analyses led us to recognise three subgenera within Australia: Micronomus, Setirostris subgen. nov. and Ozimops subgen. nov. Within Ozimops we recognise seven Australian species, three of which are new, and none are conspecific with Indo-Papuan species. The family Molossidae now comprises eleven species across three subgenera in Australia, making it the continent’s second most speciose family of bats.

Hierarchical fruit selection by Neotropical leaf-nosed bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

Abstract It is crucial to understand how Neotropical leaf-nosed bats select fruits, because their choices strongly affect the seed dispersal process, especially of pioneer plants. We tested the hypothesis of hierarchical fruit selection by phyllostomid bats at the levels of the bat genus and species by combining a literature database with field experiments. Considering our database for the whole Neotropics, Artibeus bats focus on Ficus (Moraceae) and Cecropia (Cecropiaceae), Carollia bats on Piper (Piperaceae), and Sturnira bats on Solanum (Solanaceae). Results from a field experiment in Brazil corroborated those preferences, because bats of those 3 genera selected 1st the fruits of their preferred plant genera, even when secondary fruits were offered in higher abundance. In another field experiment in Panama, we observed that 2 sympatric Carollia species, although focusing on the same plant genus, prefer different Piper species. Literature records for the whole range of the 2 Carollia species show that t...

On the phylogenetic position of Carollia manu Pacheco et al., 2004 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae).

The Neotropical bat genus Carollia (Phyllostomidae: Carolliinae) currently includes eight species. Carollia manu was described in 2004 and is distributed in montane forests in southern Peru and Bolivia. The phylogenetic affinities of C. manu have never been assessed before. Phylogenetic analyses of cytochrome b sequences of seven of the eight known species of the genus place C. manu sister to C. subrufa. The analyses also suggest hidden diversity in the genus.

Molecular phylogenetic reconstructions identify East Asia as the cradle for the evolution of the cosmopolitan genus Myotis (Mammalia, Chiroptera)

Sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (1140bp) and nuclear Rag 2 (1148bp) genes were used to assess the evolutionary history of the cosmopolitan bat genus Myotis, based on a worldwide sampling of over 88 named species plus 7 species with uncertain nomenclature. Phylogenetic reconstructions of this comprehensive taxon sampling show that most radiation of species occurred independently within each biogeographic region. Our molecular study supports an early divergence of species from the New World, where all Nearctic and Neotropical species plus a lineage from the Palaearctic constitute a monophyletic clade, sister to the remaining Old World taxa. The major Old World clade includes all remaining Eurasian taxa, most Oriental species, one Oceanian, and all Ethiopian species. Another lineage, including M. latirostris from Taiwan, appears at the base of these two major biogeographic clades and, because it bears nyctalodont molars, could be considered as a distinct genus. However, this molar configuration is also found in crown-group species, indicating that these dental characters are variable in the genus Myotis and may confound interpretation of the fossil record. Molecular datings suggest an origin of all recent Myotis in the early Miocene (about 21MYA with 95% highest posterior density interval 23–20MYA). This period was characterized by a global climatic cooling that reduced the availability of tropical habitats and favoured the development of more temperate vegetation. This sharp climatic change might have triggered the evolution of Myotis in the Northern continents, because Myotis ancestors seem to have been well adapted and successful in such temperate habitats. Ancestral area reconstructions based on the molecular phylogeny suggest that the eastern portion of the Asian continent was an important center of origin for the early diversification of all Myotis lineages, and involved relatively few subsequent transcontinental range expansions.