Multiple colonisations of the western Indian Ocean by Pteropus fruit bats (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae): the furthest islands were colonised first.
نویسندگان
چکیده
We investigate the genetic relationships between purported island species of Pteropus fruit bat (Megachiroptera) from the western Indian Ocean islands using mitochondrial DNA sequencing in order to infer the pattern of colonisation of this biogeographic region. Most significantly, our genetic data questions the current taxonomic assignment based on morphology of many of the island species and subspecies, suggesting instead that many of the western Indian Ocean islands harbour 'races' of P. giganteus from mainland India. Our results strongly argue against a single colonisation event from mainland Asia. Evidence is presented for three colonisation events; the first to the western-most extremity of their range (Comoros and Pemba Island), the second to Rodrigues Island; and a third giving rise to the remaining extant island taxa, the latter two events occurring relatively recently and rapidly.
منابع مشابه
Bats of the Western Indian Ocean Islands
The natural colonisation of many remote oceanic islands by bats, including those of the western Indian Ocean, has been facilitated by their unique capability among mammals for powered flight. In the western Indian Ocean region, only the Malagasy islands of Madagascar and the Comoros archipelago have been naturally colonised by non-volant mammals. Despite their greater potential for inter-island...
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عنوان ژورنال:
- Molecular phylogenetics and evolution
دوره 51 2 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2009