Taxonomic Evaluation of the Greater Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) in Iran Inferred from the Mitochondrial D-Loop Gene

Abstract

To examine the level of genetic differentiation in the sequences of the mitochondrial D-loop gene of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, and to evaluate the current taxonomic status of this species, 50 tissue samples of greater horseshoe bats were collected in 2011-2015 from 21 different localities in northwest, northeast, west, central, and south regions of Iran. Twenty-two published D-loop sequences from Europe (Switzerland, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, and Tunisia), and Anatolia (south, west, and east Turkey) were downloaded from GenBank. Molecular genetic analyses revealed remarkable variation among populations of R. ferrumequinum. Two major clades with strong support were identified within the greater horseshoe bat. One of these clades consists of individuals of R. ferrumequinum from Iran and eastern Turkey, and is further subdivided into two subclades. A second clade includes samples from western Turkey and Europe. The two subclades from Iran and Turkey and the second clade from western Turkey and Europe represent three diagnosable categories, which most probably warrant three subspecies for the species. Thus, based on genetic differences, it is clear that two subspecific populations are found in Iran: R. f. irani (southern Iran) and R. f. proximus (northern Iran).

Mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis reveals multiple Pleistocene glacial refugia for the Yellow‐spotted mountain newt, Neurergus derjugini (Caudata: Salamandridae) in the mid‐Zagros range in Iran and Iraq

“…Indeed, Southern Europe, Turkey, the southern parts of the Caucasus and Alborz act as multiple glacial refugia due to topographical heterogeneity and low latitude (Ahmadzadeh, Flecks, et al, ; Asadi et al, ; Rossiter, Benda, Dietz, Zhang, & Jones, ). In Iran, some species experienced range contractions to glacial refugia located, for example, in the Zagros, Alborz, and Kope Dagh Mountains, which were followed by postglacial expansion for Brandt's Persian lizard, Iranolacerta brandtii (Ahmadzadeh, Carretero, et al, ), oriental green lizards of the Lacerta trilineata (Ahmadzadeh, Flecks, et al, ), two sympatric moth species, Gnopharmia colchidari and G. kasrunensis (Rajaei Sh et al, ), Persian jird, Meriones persicus (Dianat, Darvish, Cornette, Aliabadian, & Nicolas, ), greater horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Shahabi, Akmali, & Sharifi, ), Asian pit viper, Gloydius halys caucasicus (Asadi et al, ), and Eastern rock nuthatch, Sitta tephronota , (Yousefi, Shabani, & Azarnivand, ). Some species did not change range such as Greek tortoise, Testudo graeca (Javanbakht et al, ), and Caspian turtles, Mauremys caspica , M. rivulata (Vamberger et al, ).…”

Mitochondrial DNA variation and Quaternary range dynamics in the endangered Yellow Spotted Mountain Newt, Neurergus derjugini (Caudata, Salamandridae)

“…The response of different species to unfavorable climatic conditions during the LGM in Middle East is more complex and does not follow a prevailing scenario of glacial retraction and postglacial expansion as we know from the more northerly located regions of the western Palaearctic (Anadón et al, 2015;Chiocchio, Bisconti, Zampiglia, Nascetti, & Canestrelli, 2017). In the territory of Iran, some species experienced range contractions to glacial refugia located, for example, in the Zagros, Alborz, and Kopet Dagh Mountains, which were followed by postglacial expansion (Ahmadzadeh et al, 2013;Dianat, Darvish, Cornette, Aliabadian, & Nicolas, 2017;Rajaei Sh et al, 2013;Shahabi, Akmali, & Sharifi, 2017). Other species did not shift their range substantially since the LGM and revealed a long-term range stability (Javanbakht et al, 2017;Vamberger et al, 2017), or even showed more extensive distribution during the glacials and retraction of ranges in interglacials as was evidenced for psychrophilic mountainous species (Djamali et al, 2012).…”

Biogeography of bats in Iran: Mapping and disentangling environmental and historical drivers of bat richness

“…Previous studies have shown that past climate fluctuations played an important role in shaping the richness of vertebrates and their genetic structure in Iran Dianat et al, 2017;Haddadian-Shad et al, 2016;Kafash et al, 2020;Najafi et al, 2019;Yousefi et al, 2015). Studies on Rhinolophid bats (Rhinolophus euryale and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) have shown past climate fluctuations as an influential factor in shaping bat species distribution (Najafi et al, 2019;Shahabi et al, 2017). Hence, we predict that historical variables should play important roles in shaping current patterns of the bat richness in Iran.…”

“…Past climate change was introduced as an important determinant of current distribution for different taxonomic groups like reptiles, amphibians, and birds (Ahmadzadeh, Carretero, et al, as bats (Najafi et al, 2019;Shahabi et al, 2017) in Iran. Therefore, we chose temperature and precipitation velocity since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21,000 years before present) as historical drivers of bat richness in the country.…”