Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Molecular phylogenetics of the bat genus Scotophilus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae): Perspectives from paternally and maternally iInherited genomes

Informally Refereed

Abstract

The genus Scotophilusis composed of 15 recognized species with 7 species distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, 4 distributed across southern and southeastern Asia, 3 endemic to Madagascar, and 1 endemic to Reunion Island. Scotophilusis plagued with problems in species definition, and systematic relationships among members of the genus are poorly understood. We used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome sequence data from 11 of the 15 recognized species, which represent the most comprehensive taxonomic coverage to date, to examine phylogehetic patterns within Scotophilus. All trees have S. kuhlii from Asia as the most basal species followed by S. nuxfrom Africa. However, S. heathiifrom Asia is embedded within the other African Scotophilus, indicating a complex biogeography with multiple continental exchanges. Furthermore, the Malagasy taxa are most closely related to 2 different African species, suggesting independent colonizations of Madagascar from the continental mainland.

Keywords

Chiroptera, cytochrome b, Scotophilus, Vespertilionidae, zinc finger Y (zfy)

Citation

Trujillo, Robert G.; Patton, John C.; Schlitter, Duane A.;Bickham, John W. 2009. Molecular phylogenetics of the bat genus Scotophilus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae): Perspectives from paternally and maternally iInherited genomes. Journal of Mammalogy. 90(3): 548-560.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/35010