Molecular reconstructions identify East Asia as the cradle for the evolution of the genus Myotis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)
XIIIth European Bat Research Symposium, Sibenik, Croatia, 1-5 September 2014.
M. Ruedi (1), B. Stadelmann (1), Y. Gager (2), E. J. P. Douzery (2,3), C. M. Francis (4), L.-K. Lin (5), T. Guillén Servent (6) & A. Cibois (1)
1 Natural History Museum of Geneva, BP 6434, 1211 Geneva 6, Switzerland.
2 Université Montpellier II, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34 095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
3 CNRS, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution (UMR 5554), CC064- Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
4 Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
5 Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan 407, R.O.C.
6 Center Instituto de Ecología, Antigua Carretera a Coatepec #35, Congregación El Haya, Xalapa 91070, Veracruz, México
Sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (1140 bp) and nuclear Rag 2 (1148 bp) genes were used to assess the evolutionary history of the cosmopolitan genus Myotis, based on a worldwide sampling of over 88 named species plus 7 lineages with uncertain taxonomic status. Phylogenetic reconstructions of this comprehensive taxon sampling show that most radiation of species occurred independently within each biogeographic region. Considering the potential vagility of bats, and their current worldwide distribution, the overall number of transcontinental migrations in the Myotis radiation is surprisingly low. This illustrates the relative inability of Myotis species to cross some physical barriers such as the Panamanian, Bering and Gibraltar Straits. Molecular datings suggest an origin of all recent Myotis in the early Miocene (about 19 MYA with 95% highest posterior density interval 21-16 MYA). These dates are considerably younger than the current interpretation of the fossil record which suggests the existence of Myotis-like remains dating back to the Oligocene, some 34 MYA. Ancestral area reconstructions from the molecular tree further indicate that the eastern portion of the Asian continent have been an important centre of origin for the early diversification of all Myotis lineages. This is again in contradiction with claims that early Myotinae would have an African origin. We suggest that these major discrepancies might be due to the existence of homoplastic dental characteristics (myotodoncy versus nyctalodoncy) in Myotis and non-Myotis taxa that can mislead morphological interpretation of the fossil record.
M. Ruedi (1), B. Stadelmann (1), Y. Gager (2), E. J. P. Douzery (2,3), C. M. Francis (4), L.-K. Lin (5), T. Guillén Servent (6) & A. Cibois (1)
1 Natural History Museum of Geneva, BP 6434, 1211 Geneva 6, Switzerland.
2 Université Montpellier II, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34 095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
3 CNRS, Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution (UMR 5554), CC064- Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
4 Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
5 Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan 407, R.O.C.
6 Center Instituto de Ecología, Antigua Carretera a Coatepec #35, Congregación El Haya, Xalapa 91070, Veracruz, México
Sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (1140 bp) and nuclear Rag 2 (1148 bp) genes were used to assess the evolutionary history of the cosmopolitan genus Myotis, based on a worldwide sampling of over 88 named species plus 7 lineages with uncertain taxonomic status. Phylogenetic reconstructions of this comprehensive taxon sampling show that most radiation of species occurred independently within each biogeographic region. Considering the potential vagility of bats, and their current worldwide distribution, the overall number of transcontinental migrations in the Myotis radiation is surprisingly low. This illustrates the relative inability of Myotis species to cross some physical barriers such as the Panamanian, Bering and Gibraltar Straits. Molecular datings suggest an origin of all recent Myotis in the early Miocene (about 19 MYA with 95% highest posterior density interval 21-16 MYA). These dates are considerably younger than the current interpretation of the fossil record which suggests the existence of Myotis-like remains dating back to the Oligocene, some 34 MYA. Ancestral area reconstructions from the molecular tree further indicate that the eastern portion of the Asian continent have been an important centre of origin for the early diversification of all Myotis lineages. This is again in contradiction with claims that early Myotinae would have an African origin. We suggest that these major discrepancies might be due to the existence of homoplastic dental characteristics (myotodoncy versus nyctalodoncy) in Myotis and non-Myotis taxa that can mislead morphological interpretation of the fossil record.