A New Species in the Hipposideros bicolor Group (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) from Peninsular Malaysia

Solving the taxonomic identity of Hipposideros cineraceus sensu lato (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, with the description of a new species

A new species of small Hipposideros in the bicolor group is described based on specimens from Thailand and Malaysia. It can be distinguished from other small Hipposideros in Southeast Asia by a combination of external, craniodental, and bacular morphology, as well as echolocation call frequency. The new species has a distinct rounded swelling on the internarial septum of the noseleaf, with a forearm length of 35.3-42.6 mm, greatest skull length of 15.94-17.90 mm, and a call frequency of maximum energy of 132.3-144.0 kHz. Although clearly different in morphology, the new species forms a sister clade with H. kunzi and H. bicolor in the phylogenetic trees based on mitochondrial DNA. In addition, this study reports echolocation and genetic data, with a confirmed record of H. einnaythu from Thailand for the first time. The new species most closely resembles H. einnaythu. However, it differs in the details of the noseleaf and craniodental morphology, and it has a genetic distance of 9.6% and 10.4% based on mitochondrial COI and ND2, respectively. It is currently documented from five localities: two in peninsular Thailand, at Hala Forest in Yala Province, and Phru To Daeng Swamp Forest in Narathiwat Province, one from peninsular Malaysia at Krau Wildlife Reserve in Pahang, and another two in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo at Gunung Kinabalu, and near Madai Caves. However, it is likely that many previous records of "H. cineraceus" from Borneo refer to this species. Most records of the species are from lowland evergreen rainforest, though one record from Sabah was at 1800m. The roosting sites for this new species are currently unknown. Future research with a combination of data such as genetics, echolocation and morphology would be necessary to further determine the species geographic distribution in Southeast Asia.

Bat point counts: A novel sampling method shines light on flying bat communities

Emerging technologies based on the detection of electro-magnetic energy offer promising opportunities for sampling biodiversity. We exploit their potential by showing here how they can be used in bat point counts-a novel method to sample flying bats-to overcome shortcomings of traditional sampling methods, and to maximize sampling coverage and taxonomic resolution of this elusive taxon with minimal sampling bias. We conducted bat point counts with a sampling rig combining a thermal scope to detect bats, an ultrasound recorder to obtain echolocation calls, and a near-infrared camera to capture bat morphology. We identified bats with a dedicated identification key combining acoustic and morphological features, and compared bat point counts with the standard bat sampling methods of mist-netting and automated ultrasound recording in three oil palm plantation sites in Indonesia, over nine survey nights. Based on rarefaction and extrapolation sampling curves, bat point counts were similarly effective but more time-efficient than the established methods for sampling the oil palm species pool in our study. Point counts sampled species that tend to avoid nets and those that are not echolocating, and thus cannot be detected acoustically. We identified some bat sonotypes with near-infrared imagery, and bat point counts revealed strong sampling biases in previous studies using capture-based methods, suggesting similar biases in other regions might exist. Our method should be tested in a wider range of habitats and regions to assess its performance. However, while capture-based methods allow to identify bats with absolute and internal morphometry, and unattended ultrasound recorders can effectively sample echolocating bats, bat point counts are a promising, non-invasive, and potentially competitive new tool for sampling all flying bats without bias and observing their behavior in the wild.

Not the Cryptic Species: Diversity of Hipposideros gentilis (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) in Indochina

We present here the result of phylogenetic analysis for Vietnamese Hipposideros gentilis specimens using 7 nuclear genes and one mitochondrial gene. The complex distribution of divergent mitochondrial DNA lineages contradicts, at least in part, nuclear and morphological data. The most likely explanation for this discordance is the historical hybridization between ancestral populations of H. gentilis and H. rotalis/H. khaokhouayensis. Our data supports the species status of H. gentilis, while only partially corroborating its previously proposed subspecies delimitation. We suggest the lowland forest populations from south Vietnam may correspond to their own subspecies. At the same time, the close phylogenetic relationship and morphological similarity of mountain forms from south and central Vietnam to the north Vietnamese populations make doubtful the subspecies status of H. gentilis sinensis.

Evolutionary relationships and population genetics of the Afrotropical leaf-nosed bats (Chiroptera, Hipposideridae)

The Old World leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideridae) are aerial and gleaning insectivores that occur throughout the Paleotropics. Both their taxonomic and phylogenetic histories are confused. Until recently, the family included genera now allocated to the Rhinonycteridae and was recognized as a subfamily of Rhinolophidae. Evidence that Hipposideridae diverged from both Rhinolophidae and Rhinonycteridae in the Eocene confirmed their family rank, but their intrafamilial relationships remain poorly resolved. We examined genetic variation in the Afrotropical hipposiderids Doryrhina, Hipposideros, and Macronycteris using relatively dense taxon-sampling throughout East Africa and neighboring regions. Variation in both mitochondrial (cyt-b) and four nuclear intron sequences (ACOX2, COPS, ROGDI, STAT5) were analyzed using both maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods. We used intron sequences and the lineage delimitation method BPP—a multilocus, multi-species coalescent approach—on supported mitochondrial clades to identify those acting as independent evolutionary lineages. The program StarBEAST was used on the intron sequences to produce a species tree of the sampled Afrotropical hipposiderids. All genetic analyses strongly support generic monophyly, with Doryrhina and Macronycteris as Afrotropical sister genera distinct from a Paleotropical Hipposideros; mitochondrial analyses interpose the genera Aselliscus, Coelops, and Asellia between these clades. Mitochondrial analyses also suggest at least two separate colonizations of Africa by Asian groups of Hipposideros, but the actual number and direction of faunal interchanges will hinge on placement of the unsampled African-Arabian species H.megalotis. Mitochondrial sequences further identify a large number of geographically structured clades within species of all three genera. However, in sharp contrast to this pattern, the four nuclear introns fail to distinguish many of these groups and their geographic structuring disappears. Various distinctive mitochondrial clades are consolidated in the intron-based gene trees and delimitation analyses, calling into question their evolutionary independence or else indicating their very recent divergence. At the same time, there is now compelling genetic evidence in both mitochondrial and nuclear sequences for several additional unnamed species among the Afrotropical Hipposideros. Conflicting appraisals of differentiation among the Afrotropical hipposiderids based on mitochondrial and nuclear loci must be adjudicated by large-scale integrative analyses of echolocation calls, quantitative morphology, and geometric morphometrics. Integrative analyses will also help to resolve the challenging taxonomic issues posed by the diversification of the many lineages associated with H.caffer and H.ruber.