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1 February 2006 CRYPTIC SPECIES IN AN INSECTIVOROUS BAT, SCOTOPHILUS DINGANII
David S. Jacobs, Geeta N. Eick, M. Corrie Schoeman, Conrad A. Matthee
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Abstract

In recent years many cryptic bat species have been unmasked by differences in their echolocation calls. The yellow house bat (Scotophilus dinganii) is 1 of 3 species of Scotophilus currently described in southern Africa and is distinguished from the other 2 species by its size and yellow venter. Here we use genetic, morphological, and echolocation call data to show the existence of a cryptic species. We found that S. dinganii consists of 2 forms, one that uses a peak echolocation frequency of 44 kHz and the other a peak frequency of 33 kHz. Both forms have yellow venters. The 44-kHz phonic type is up to 15% smaller than the 33-kHz phonic type and differed genetically by an average cytochrome-b (Cytb) sequence divergence of 3.3%. Furthermore, combined phylogenetic analyses of Cytb and control region sequences indicate that the 2 phonic types are reciprocally monophyletic, suggesting that they are sibling species.

David S. Jacobs, Geeta N. Eick, M. Corrie Schoeman, and Conrad A. Matthee "CRYPTIC SPECIES IN AN INSECTIVOROUS BAT, SCOTOPHILUS DINGANII," Journal of Mammalogy 87(1), 161-170, (1 February 2006). https://doi.org/10.1644/04-MAMM-A-132R2.1
Accepted: 1 May 2005; Published: 1 February 2006
KEYWORDS
bats
cryptic species
echolocation
mitochondrial DNA
morphology
Scotophilus dinganii
Scotophilus viridis
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