We investigate the taxonomic status of a molossid bat from the western Seychelles that has been previously considered distinct and then subsequently synonomized with the widespread Chaerephon pumilus. We compare specimens available from the Seychelles (Aldabra and Amirantes), including the holotype and paratype of C. pusillus, to specimens assigned to C. pumilus from Kenya, the Comoros Archipelago (Mayotte, Mohéli, Anjouan, and Grande Comore), and from lowland areas of the northern half of Madagascar. Based on these comparisons, the animals from the Aldabra and Amirantes are distinctly smaller than these other regional island and mainland populations and we conclude that the name C. pusillus should be resurrected for this endemic Seychelles species.
Six species of small vespertilionid bat were recently collected in Madagascar. Neoromicia matroka (included by some in Eptesicus) and N. malagasyensis were already recorded from the island. Pipistrellus hesperidus was known but under a different name, P. kuhlii. Neoromicia melckorum is a new species record for the island. Hypsugo anchietae represents a new species and genus record. The last taxon is a previously undescribed species of Pipistrellus, which shows affinities to three South-east and East Asian pipistrelle taxa. In this paper, the new species is described and further information on the taxonomy, distribution, ecology, and behaviour of all six taxa are provided.
We tested the effects of aspect ratio, wing loading and body size (forearm length) on four estimators of molecular diversity (based on mitochondrial D-loop and cytochrome-b DNA sequences) among eight Afro-Malagasy species of free-tailed (Family Molossidae) bats. As expected based on many previous animal studies conducted at broader taxonomic scales, FST was significantly negatively correlated with wing loading (a good proxy for dispersal ability), even after correcting for phylogeny. However, haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity and k (the mean number of nucleotide differences between sequences) were not significantly correlated with body size, aspect ratio or wing loading. According to the metabolic rate hypothesis, we expected a significant negative correlation between k and body size. No such significant correlation was obtained, which is attributed to species differences in population size and the timing of past bottlenecks inferred from population demographic data.
We examine patterns of morphological and genetic variation in Chaerephon leucogaster (family Molossidae) on Madagascar, Mayotte in the Comoros Archipelago, and the offshore Tanzanian island of Pemba. Five external, 10 cranial, and eight dental measurements of animals from different Malagasy populations (grouped according to bioclimatic regions) show differences in the degree of sexual dimorphism and size variation. Further, the population on Mayotte is largely identical in size to those from western Madagascar, and animals from Pemba are notably larger than those from Madagascar and Mayotte. Cytochrome b genetic distances across samples from these islands were low (maximum 0.0035) and animals from Pemba and Mayotte shared cytochrome b haplotypes with Malagasy bats. D-loop data showed some concordance between haplotype distribution, geographical position (latitude and island), and the bioclimatic zones. Animals from Pemba and Mayotte formed a unique D-loop haplotype, which was a minimum of six mutational steps different from Malagasy haplotypes. Within Madagascar, certain haplotypes were exclusive to the north (13°S latitude band) and arid southwest (22° and 23°S latitudes) regions. In general, there was no clear concordance between variation in haplotype distribution, latitude, altitude or gender. Where concordance occurred, the genetic distances involved were not sufficiently high to warrant the definition of new taxonomic units. Hence, based on current genetic information, patterns of morphological variation of the Madagascar populations and differences between Pemba and Mayotte/Madagascar are best explained as inter-population variation and may be adaptive, associated with different climatic regimes and associated ecological variables.
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