Abstrakt
Phylogenetic relationships of a sample comprising 248 bats belonging to 19 species and four families (Hipposideridae, Rhinolophidae, Molossidae and Vespertilionidae) from Senegal (Western Africa) were investigated with the use of multi-locus sequence data and non- differentially stained chromosomes. The karyotypes of Hipposideros ruber, H. tephrus, H. jonesi and H. cyclops were described for the first time.
The standard Hipposideros formula was recorded in H. tephrus, H. jonesi and H. ruber (2n = 32, FNa = 60, FN = 64). The karyotypes of H. cyclops (2n = 36, FN = 66) and H. gigas (2n = 52, FN = 64) substantially diverged from this typical chromosomal complement.
Rhinolophus landeri and R. fumigatus shared the same diploid number (2n = 58), but differed in the chromosome morphology (R. fumigatus – FNa = 60, FN = 64; R. landeri – FNa = 64, FN = 68). Rhinolophus landeri was found karyotypically distinct to other African populations, thus signalling a possible presence of cryptic forms within this species.
Chromosomal, Bayesian, maximum likelihood and genetic distance analyses revealed an indication for the existence of cryptic forms among five out of ten examined species of the West African vespertilionid bats – Pipistrellus hesperidus, Neoromicia nana, N. somalica, Scotoecus hirundo and Nycticeinops schlieffenii. Additionally, based on the analyses of eight mitochondrial and nuclear genes and combination of the Senegalese bats and GenBank data, Pipistrellus rueppellii was basal to the whole Pipistrellus/Nyctalus clade, possibly deserving its own genus.
The detection of cryptic taxa, description of new karyotypes and proposals for new systematic arrangements demonstrate that our knowledge of (West-African) Chiroptera is still incomplete and that an investigation conducted on a small area can reveal new important findings, which can considerably contribute to our understanding of both biogeography and phylogeny.