Journal article
The Use of Molecular Phylogenetic and Morphological Tools to Identify Cryptic and Paraphyletic Species: Examples from the Diminutive Long-fingered Bats (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae: Miniopterus) on Madagascar
Steven M Goodman, Claudette P Maminirina, Helen M Bradman, Les Christidis, Belinda Appleton
American Museum Novitates | AMER MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY | Published : 2009
DOI: 10.1206/652.1
Abstract
Based on nearly complete (1125 bp) cytochrome-b sequence data and morphological characters, two new endemic species of Miniopterus are described from Madagascar that were previously identified as M. manavi. Using phylogenetic analysis, the basal nodes of major lineages in the Malagasy members of this genus are weakly supported, while, in most cases, the branches leading to each of the clades are well resolved. Miniopterus mahafaliensis, new species, occurs in the southwestern semidesert areas and M. brachytragos, new species, has a broad distribution across the northern half of the island, ranging across several different biomes. Phylogenetic inference indicates that these two new taxa are n..
View full abstractGrants
Awarded by National Geographic Society
Funding Acknowledgements
On Madagascar, we are grateful to the Direction des Eaux et Forets and Association National pour la Gestion des Aires Protegees for issuing permits to collect specimens and to D. Rakotondravony and O. Ramilijaona for their kind assistance with numerous administrative details. We are indebted to S.G. Cardiff, E.N. Rakotonandrasana, F. Ratrimomanarivo, H. Vola Razakarivony, M. Ruedi, N. Weyeneth, and Frontier-Madagascar for their aid with fieldwork and specimen collection. For access to material under their care we acknowledge J.-M. Pons, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris; J. Chupasko, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts; P.D. Jenkins, the Natural History Museum, London; B. Herzig, Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna; J.L. Eger, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; D. Rakotondravony, Departement de Biologie Animale, Universite d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo; and M. Carleton and L. Gordon, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. J. Weinstein and L. Wilme kindly prepared certain figures, M. Ruedi and H. Schutz allowed us to reproduce their photographs. Field research associated with this paper has been generously supported by Conservation International (CABS), John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Geographic Society (6637-99 and 7402-03), and the Volkswagen Foundation. A portion of the molecular study associated with this project was funded by Biodiversity Conservation Madagascar (BCM), through the generosity of O. Griffiths, and through the University of Melbourne Collaborative Grants Scheme. For comments on an earlier version of this paper, we are grateful to Peter Taylor, Rob Voss, and an anonymous reviewer. Mary Knight helped considerably with the final editing and production of this publication.