Molecular systematics of the family Mormoopidae (Chiroptera) based on cytochrome b and recombination activating gene 2 sequences

We examined 1140 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and 1398 bp of t he nuclear RAG2 gene to investigate the systematics of the eight species of bats within the family Mormoopidae. It was concluded that within the genus Pteronotus there were four valid subgenera: Phyllodia, Chilonycteris, Pter onotus, and an undescribed subgenus. Within Pteronotus, P. parnellii either was part of an unresolved tetratomy with the other three subgenera (cytoch rome b data) or was basal (RAG2 and combined data). For three species, P. g ymnonotus, P. macleayii, and P. quadridens, our sample revealed little geog raphic variation. In P. davyi and P. parnellii, the magnitude of genetic di stance suggests the possibility of two biological species existing within t he currently recognized taxa. Within P. personatus, there was substantial g eographic variation partitioned in a step-like fashion among our specimens. Neither of the species within the genus Mormoops showed the deep distance nodes present in P. davyi, P. parnellii, and P. personatus. Cytochrome b an d RAG2 data indicated that M. megalophylla evolved recently from its common ancestor. Although there was considerable agreement among the branching pa tterns for the nuclear and mitochondrial genes, both genes failed to provid e robust data concerning the evolutionary relationships among the subgenera . (C) 2001 Academic Press.