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| Pseudoromicia nyanza Monadjem, Patterson, Webala & Demos in Monadjem, Demos, Dalton, Webala, ... et Patterson, 2020. |
Abstract
Vespertilionidae (class Mammalia) constitutes the largest family of bats, with ~500 described species. Nonetheless, the systematic relationships within this family are poorly known, especially among the pipistrelle-like bats of the tribes Vespertilionini and Pipistrellini. Perhaps as a result of their drab pelage and lack of obvious morphological characters, the genus and species limits of pipistrelle-like bats remain poorly resolved, particularly in Africa, where more than one-fifth of all vesper bat species occur. Further exacerbating the problem is the accelerating description of new species within these groups. In this study, we attempt to resolve the systematic relationships among the pipistrelle-like bats of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar and provide a more stable framework for future systematic efforts. Our systematic inferences are based on extensive genetic and morphological sampling of > 400 individuals covering all named genera and the majority of described African pipistrelle-like bat species, focusing on previously unstudied samples of East African bats. Our study corroborates previous work by identifying three African genera in Pipistrellini (Pipistrellus, Scotoecus and Vansonia), none of which is endemic to Africa. However, the situation is more complex in Vespertilionini. With broad taxonomic sampling, we confirm that the genus Neoromicia is paraphyletic, a situation that we resolve by assigning the species of Neoromicia to four genera. Neoromicia is here restricted to Neoromicia zuluensis and allied taxa. Some erstwhile Neoromicia species are transferred into an expanded Laephotis, which now includes both long-eared and short-eared forms. We also erect two new genera, one comprising a group of mostly forest-associated species (many of which have white wings) and the other for the genetically and morphologically unique banana bat. All four of these genera, as recognized here, are genetically distinct, have distinctive bacular morphologies and can be grouped by cranial morphometrics. We also demonstrate that the genus Nycticeinops, until now considered monospecific, includes both Afropipistrellus and the recently named Parahypsugo, thus representing the fifth African genus in Vespertilionini. A sixth genus, Hypsugo, is mostly extra-limital to sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, we describe three new species of pipistrelle-like bats from Kenya and Uganda, uncovered during the course of systematic bat surveys in the region. Such surveys are greatly needed across tropical Africa to uncover further bat diversity.
Keywords: Africa, alpha taxonomy, genus revision, Mammalia, mitochondrial DNA, new genera, new species
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| Bacula of the four clades within formerly or traditionally recognized as Neoromicia: A, Laephotis kirinyaga (FMNH 234639); B, Neoromicia somalica (FMNH 215614); C, Pseudoromicia kityoi (FMNH 223211); and D, Afronycteris nana (DM 13013). Note the three-pronged tip in Neoromicia, the straight shaft with spatulate tip at an angle of 45° in Laephotis, the long, curved shaft with bilobed tip in Pseudoromicia and the deeply bilobed base and gently curved shaft in Afronycteris. Scale bars: 1 mm. |
TAXONOMY
Family Vespertilionidae Gray, 1821
Tribe Vespertilionini Gray, 1821
Neoromicia Roberts, 1926
Laephotis Thomas, 1901
Laephotis kirinyaga Monadjem, Patterson,
Webala & Demos sp. nov.
East African serotine
Etymology: The specific epithet is a Kikuyu word
for Mount Kenya and reflects the distribution of the
species in the northern highlands of Kenya. It is a
noun in apposition.
Pseudoromicia Monadjem, Patterson, Webala
& Demos gen. nov.
Type species: Pseudoromicia tenuipinnis (Peters,
1872)
Included species: Pseudoromicia brunnea (Thomas,
1880); Pseudoromicia isabella (Decher, Hutterer &
Monadjem, 2015); Pseudoromicia rendalli (Thomas,
1889); Pseudoromicia roseveari (Monadjem et al.,
2013); Pseudoromicia tenuipinnis (Peters, 1872); and
two newly described species (see below).
Etymology: This feminine name is derived from the
Greek prefix ψευδο-, false, and the genus Romicia
Gray, 1838, in turn derived from the Ancient Greek
word ρóμιξα, meaning a ‘kind of javelin or huntingspear’. It also hints at the genus Neoromicia, to which
members of Pseudoromicia were previously assigned.
Members of this new genus resemble and have in the
past been confused with Neoromicia species.
Distribution: This genus is widely distributed across
sub-Saharan Africa. However, all but one of the species
is associated with equatorial tropical forest and
woodland belt. One species, Pse. rendalli, extends far
into savanna habitats, ranging from 13°N to 28°S
Pseudoromicia kityoi Monadjem, Kerbis
Peterhans, Nalikka, Waswa, Demos & Patterson
sp. nov.
Kityo’s serotine
Etymology: This species is named in honour of Dr.
Robert M. Kityo, mammalogist, mentor and longserving curator at the Museum of Zoology, Makerere
University, in recognition of his valuable contributions
to bats and small mammal research in the region. His
welcoming nature, curiosity, hospitality and support
have facilitated numerous and diverse research
agendas over the decades for both national and
international researchers.
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| Pseudoromicia nyanza (FMNH 215626), showing the distinctive white wings and under parts of this species. |
Pseudoromicia nyanza Monadjem, Patterson,
Webala & Demos sp. nov.
Nyanza serotine
Etymology: This species is named after the region
where it was found, Nyanza, which derives from the
Bantu word for ‘large body of water’. Covering nearly
60 000 km2
, Lake Victoria surely qualifies. The name is
used as a noun in apposition.
Afronycteris Monadjem, Patterson & Demos
gen. nov.
Type species: Afronycteris nana (Peters, 1852).
Included species: Afronycteris helios (Heller, 1912).
Etymology: From the Greek word νυχτερίδα, bat, and
the prefix Afro- referring to the African continent,
referring to the wide distribution of the type species
A. nana. This species ranges, without obvious breaks in
distribution, from Senegal in the west, east to Ethiopia
and south to South Africa, being absent only from
the more arid desert and semi-desert environments
associated with the Sahara, Sahel and Chalbi Desert
in the north and the Namib and Kalahari deserts in
the south-west (Happold, 2013a).
Distribution: This genus is endemic to sub-Saharan
Africa, probably occurring in suitable habitats across
its wide range. It occurs throughout the Upper
Guinea rainforest zone, extending northward into
Sudanian savanna, possibly extending into the Sahel
along major rivers and wetlands (Happold, 2013a). It
occurs throughout mesic portions of Central and East
Africa, but records are sparser in the Horn of Africa
(Lanza et al., 2015). It is widespread in the wetter
parts of southern Africa, avoiding the dry southwestern region of South Africa, much of Botswana
and Namibia (Monadjem et al., 2010).
Ara Monadjem, Terrence C. Demos, Desire L. Dalton, Paul W. Webala, Simon Musila, Julian C. Kerbis Peterhans and Bruce D. Patterson. 2020. A Revision of Pipistrelle-like Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in East Africa with the Description of New Genera and Species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. zlaa087. DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa087
Penis bones, echolocation calls, and genes reveal new kinds of bats
