The echimyid rodents are the most diverse group of Neotropical hystricognaths, with approximately 40 extant and fossil genera. Craniodental characters are proposed in order to formulate hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships within the Echimyidae. A data matrix of 54 taxa and 50 characters is constructed and submitted to parsimony analyses using PAUP and WinClada programs. Analysis of the complete data set results in 47 448 most parsimonious trees 107 steps long. These trees are summarized in a strict consensus tree, which is taken as the main phylogenetic hypothesis resulting from this study. The monophyly of several currently recognized supraspecific taxa is not corroborated. These are: the subfamilies Eumysopinae, Echimyinae, Myocastorinae and Adelphomyinae; and the genera Proechimys, Echimys and Makalata. Conversely, the monophyly of Dactylomyinae and Trinomys is supported. New associations are proposed: (1) a clade comprising the extant Carterodon, Clyomys and Euryzygomatomys and the fossil Pampamys and Theridomysops placed at the base of the crown-group Echimyidae; (2) a clade uniting Proechimys, Hoplomys and Trinomys, which is the sister-taxon of (3) a clade including Mesomys, Lonchothrix, Myocastor and a clade with extant dactylomyines and echimyines and associated fossil taxa. Based on this phylogenetic hypothesis, patterns of tooth evolution in Echimyidae are discussed, and minimum ages for the divergence events within the family are estimated.

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A molecular phylogeny for the subfamily Pitcairnioideae was inferred to examine the distribution of crassulacean acid metabolism in the subfamily. For this purpose, a neighbour‐joining tree with p‐distances was built using a MatK chloroplast gene data set. The phylogenetic results of our analysis confirmed the monophyletic condition of most genera examined: Brocchinia, Dyckia, Encholirium, Fosterella, Hechtia and Puya. A paraphyletic basal sequence showed Hechtia branching off from the basal node, followed by Brocchinia, Cottendorfia + Navia phelpsiae, and Puya. The remaining taxa were divided into two groups: (a) Deuterocohnia meziana, Dyckia, Encholirium; Fosterella; Deuterocohnia spp. + Pitcairnia heterophyla; (b) Pepinia, Pitcairnia spp. and Navia igneosicola. The basal placement of the CAM genera Hecthia indicates that CAM may be a ‘primitive condition’ in Pitcairnioideae and that C3 species may have lost the ability to induce CAM. In this molecular tree, CAM metabolism appeared scattered throughout the tree. Current knowledge, however, does not exclude the possibility that CAM arose only once and it has been switching on and off in various lineages. Further detailed studies on photosynthetic metabolisms and the phylogenetic distribution of characters will provide a better basis on which to evaluate photosynthetic origins. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2003, 80, 261–268.

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The partially submerged Impossivel-Ioio cave system located in the karst region of Cha¬ pada Diamantina in Bahia (Brazil) has recently been the target of extensive paleontological studies. Here we provide the first report of fossil bats from this cave system, in which we rec¬ ognize six species based on humeral remains: Furipterus horrens, Chrotopterus auritus, Mormoops cf. megalophylla, Pteronotus gymnonotus, Pteronotus parnelUi, and Noctilio leporinus. Morphology of the humerus of these taxa is described in a comparative framework to docu¬ ment taxonomic assessments and provide a basis for future studies of fossil bat faunas. The relevance of the new records reported here is evaluated at a broader continental scale, as well as in contrast with the recent bat fauna of the region. The record of Noctilio leporinus stands as the first fossil occurrence of this species on the South American continent.

Abstract:One of the major challenges to understanding the evolution of Neotropical bats concerns our capacity to successfully scrutinize phylogenetic patterns associated with cases of cryptic species complexes. In this study Pteronotus parnellii is examined as a selected example of a known lineage of mormoopid bat that potentially contains several cryptic species. A samples of 452 individuals from 83 different localities, essentially covering its entire mainland distribution, was evaluated using two genetic markers: COI (mitochondrial) and DBY (nuclear) genes. The findings of this study strongly support the hypothesis of high genetic variability and identify at least six lineages within P. parnellii, some of which appear to be cryptic species. Keywords:Bats, COI, DBY, Neotropical America, Genetic diversity, Biogeography, Phylogeny, taxonomyPowered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) Download source file (73.76 kB) Evolutionary scenarios associated with the Pteronotus parnellii cryptic species-complex (Chiroptera: Mormoopidae) Manuscript body INTRODUCTIONThe Neotropical region is home to the greatest diversity of bats in the world, and it is well known that this fauna awaits a number of basic lines of research, among which cryptic diversity stands as one of the most relevant. Thus, despite recent efforts to address the issue, not only in the Neotropics (Clare, 2011; Clare et al., 2011; Pavan et al., 2011; Larsen et al., 2012;Hernández-Dávila et al., 2012; Pavan et al., 2013; Velazco and Patterson, 2013; Parlos et al., 2014) but also in several other regions of the world (Mayer and von Helversen, 2001;Ibáñez et al., 2006;Furman et al., 2010;Raghuram et al., 2014; Bogdanowicz et al., 2015; Dammhahn et al., 2015;and Hassanin et al., 2015), cryptic species complexes have become a top priority for a number of international agendas.Pteronotus parnellii is investigated here as a special case in which to study cryptic species among Neotropical bats, considering that due to its wide distribution and low morphological differentiation, the family Mormoopidae is an excellent subject for this kind of analysis.The family has only two genera, Mormoops Leach, 1821 and Pteronotus Gray, 1838; both comprising insectivorous, gregarious, and strict cave-dwelling bats, which are found in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from tropical rainforests to arid regions, being particularly abundant in low dry forests throughout the Neotropics.The genus Mormoops has two species, Mormoops blainvillei Leach, 1821 which is distributed across the Greater Antilles and small adjacent islands, and M. megalophylla (Peters, 1864), with an extant distribution extending from Mexico to northwestern South America, and the West Indies. Pteronotus consists of a diverse group of six currently recognized species: P. davyi Gray, 1838; P. gymnonotus Naterer, 1843; P. parnellii (Gray, 1843) and P. personatus (Wagner, 1843), which are all distributed from Mexico to Brazil, and P. macleayi (Gray, 1843) and P. quadridens (Gundlach, 1840), which are known from the A...

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