Taxonomic status of Andersen’s fruit-eating bat (Artibeus jamaicensis aequatorialis) and revised classification of Artibeus (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

Abstract

Fruit-eating bats of the genus Artibeus are widely distributed across the Neotropics and are one of the most recently evolved assemblages of the family Phyllostomidae. Although the taxonomy and systematics of species of Artibeus has been the subject of an intense historical debate, the most current taxonomic arrangements recognize approximately eleven species within the genus. However, recent phylogenetic studies indicate that species diversity within South and Middle American populations of Artibeus is underestimated. South American populations referable to A. jamaicensis aequatorialis are of considerable interest because previous studies of mitochondrial DNA variation identified potential species level variation west of the Andes Mountains. In this study we use morphometric and genetic data (nuclear AFLPs) to investigate the taxonomic status of A. j. aequatorialis. Our results indicate that elevating aequatorialis to species level is appropriate based on statistically supported reciprocal monophyly in mitochondrial and nuclear datasets and diagnostic morphological characters. In light of our results, and of those presented elsewhere, we provide a revised classification of the genus.

DNA barcoding of Jamaican bats: implications to Neotropical biodiversity

“…It nested within other Neotropical populations (Figure 4) with an average DNA difference of 1.7%, which is similar to intraspecific variation within bats (Baker & Bradley, 2006). However, there were two other divergent lineages from Martinique and Ecuador previously identified as conspecific, but now considered as A. schwartzi and A. aequatorialis (Larsen et al, 2007(Larsen et al, , 2010.…”

“…There were more specimens from these and other localities that had different sequences, but the average difference was 1.7% and there was no geographic structuring. Recent studies including other populations of A. jamaicensis have recognized A. triomylus from western Mexico (Guerrero et al, 2004), A. schwartzi from the Lesser Antilles (Larsen et al, 2007), and A. aequatorialis from northwestern South America (Larsen et al, 2010) as distinct species.…”

MHC-DRB Exon 2 Diversity of the Jamaican Fruit-Eating Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) from Mexico

“…The Jamaican fruit-eating bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) is one of the most abundant bat species in the Neotropics with a wide distribution (ranging from the Florida Keys, throughout the Caribbean, Mexico southward to northern Colombia and western Venezuela) (Larsen et al, 2010). The species occupies a great diversity of habitats including tropical evergreen forests, cloud forests, dry sea sonal forests, and human-modified habitats such as agricultural landscapes (Ortega et al, 2002;Vázquez-Domínguez et al, 2013).…”

On the association between environmental gradients and skull size variation in the great fruit-eating bat, Artibeus lituratus (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

“…2) using a digital caliper (Fowler Ultra‐Cal Mark IV) to the nearest 0.01 mm to assess phenetic variation in the populations of the A. lituratus complex. These measurements have been widely used in previous studies because of their resolution for evaluating inter‐ and intraspecific variation in Artibeus (Patten, 1971; Davis, 1984; Lim, 1997; Marchán‐Rivadeneira, 2006; Larsen, Marchán‐Rivadeneira & Baker, 2010a, b). Only adult specimens, in accordance with the age criteria of Anthony (1988), were used in the statistical analyses to reduce the effect of nonlinear allometric associations and to homogenize the data matrix (Pimentel, 1992).…”