Miniopterus mahafaliensis
Encyclopedia
Miniopterus mahafaliensis is a bat
in the genus
Miniopterus
that occurs in southwestern Madagascar
. Populations of this species have historically been included in Miniopterus manavi, but molecular data published in 2008 and 2009 indicate that this supposed species in fact consists of five separate species, including the newly described M. mahafaliensis. The species has been found in dry, spiny
, and gallery forest
, as well as more open habitat
s, in southwestern Madagascar.
Miniopterus mahafaliensis is a small, brown Miniopterus; its forearm length is 35 to 40 mm (1.4 to 1.6 in). The hairs of the underparts have gray tips. The tragus
(a projection in the outer ear) is thick and blunt-tipped. The uropatagium (tail membrane) is well-furred and the palate
is concave
.
is much more species-rich than previously thought. In a 1995 contribution to Faune de Madagascar on Malagasy bats, Randolph Peterson and colleagues listed four species of Miniopterus on Madagascar and the nearby Comoros
, including the small Miniopterus manavi with a broad distribution on both Madagascar and the Comoros. In 2008 and 2009, however, Steven Goodman
and colleagues presented evidence that the former concept of M. manavi in fact encompassed five morphologically and molecularly distinct species of small Miniopterus. These included M. manavi itself in the Central Highlands
, M. griveaudi
and M. aelleni
in the Comoros and northern and western Madagascar, M. brachytragos
in northern and western Madagascar only, and M. mahafaliensis in southwestern Madagascar. The five recognized species of M. manavi-like bats are not each others' closest relatives, but apparently acquired their similarities through convergent evolution
.
Miniopterus mahafaliensis was described as a new species in the second 2009 paper by Goodman and colleagues. The specific name is derived from the Malagasy
word Mahafaly, which refers to the Mahafaly Plateau, where the specimen has been recorded, and to the Mahafaly
ethnic group of the region. Analysis of sequences of the mitochondrial
cytochrome b
gene suggested that M. brachytragos is most closely related to another Malagasy species, M. sororculus. Although samples of M. mahafaliensis differed from each other by a maximum of 2.2% in their cytochrome b, Goodman and colleagues could not discern any phylogeographic
structure within the species.
. The fur of the upperparts is brown and the hairs on the underparts have gray tips. Miniopterus brachytragos is similar in color, but other small Malagasy Miniopterus are darker. The ears are partially haired above, but virtually naked below and end in a rounded tip. The tragus (a projection on the inner side of the outer ear) is relatively thick, has the sides mostly parallel, and ends in a curved, rounded tip. The wing membrane is also brown, but the uropatagium (tail membrane) is lighter. The wing membrane and uropatagium are attached to the upper leg at the same level, above the ankle. The uropatagium is relatively densely covered with hairs, particularly on the upper side. M. manavi and M. brachytragos also have a densely haired uropatagium, but in M. aelleni and M. griveaudi it is only sparsely haired or even mostly naked.
In 66 to 74 specimens measured by Goodman and colleagues, total length was 87 to 96 mm (3.4 to 3.8 in), averaging 91.1 mm (3.59 in); tail length was 38 to 48 mm (1.5 to 1.9 in), averaging 42.4 mm (1.67 in); hindfoot length is 6 to 7 mm (0.2 to 0.3 in), averaging 6.3 mm (0.25 in); tragus length was 5 to 6 mm (0.2 to 0.2 in), averaging 5.8 mm (0.23 in); ear length was 9 to 11 mm (about 0.4 in), averaging 9.4 mm (0.37 in); forearm length was 35 to 40 mm (1.4 to 1.6 in), averaging 37.4 mm (1.47 in); and body mass was 3.8 to 7.3 g (0.13 to 0.26 oz), averaging 4.9 g (0.17 oz). There is no evidence for substantial size differences between males and females
.
In the skull, the rostrum (front part) is relatively long and line-shaped. The central groove in the nasal depression is relatively narrow. The frontal bone
s are slightly rounded and bear a prominent sagittal crest
. Further back on the braincase, the lambdoid crest is also prominent. The middle part of the palate
is concave, not flat as in M. aelleni and M. manavi. At the palate's back margin is a long, thin posterior palatal spine.
Miniopterus mahafaliensis has 36 teeth in the dental formula (three incisor
s, one canine, three premolar
s, and two molar
s in both upper toothrows and two incisors, one canine, two premolars, and three molars in the lower toothrows). As is characteristic of Miniopterus, the first upper premolar (P1) is smaller and more simplified than the second (P2).
and dry forest, often but not always near caves; it has been found on the Mahafaly Plateau, in the Forêt des Mikea, and the Kirindy Mitea National Park
. Further inland, it has been found in disturbed gallery forest
in Isalo National Park
, in a cave in savanna habitat near Ihosy
, and in unspecified habitat at Betroka
. Little is known of the ecology of M. mahafaliensis, but species of Miniopterus generally feed on insects, breed seasonally, and roost in large colonies in caves.
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
in the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Miniopterus
Miniopterus
Miniopterus is a genus of bats and the only genus of the family Miniopteridae. The genus was previously placed in its own subfamily, Miniopterinae, of the vesper bat family, but is now classified in its own family....
that occurs in southwestern Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. Populations of this species have historically been included in Miniopterus manavi, but molecular data published in 2008 and 2009 indicate that this supposed species in fact consists of five separate species, including the newly described M. mahafaliensis. The species has been found in dry, spiny
Madagascar spiny thickets
The Madagascar spiny thickets is an ecoregion in Madagascar. The vegetation type is found on poor substrates with low, erratic winter rainfall. An estimated 14,000 to is covered with this habitat, all in the southwest of the country...
, and gallery forest
Gallery forest
Gallery forests are evergreen forests that form as corridors along rivers or wetlands and project into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands or deserts....
, as well as more open habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s, in southwestern Madagascar.
Miniopterus mahafaliensis is a small, brown Miniopterus; its forearm length is 35 to 40 mm (1.4 to 1.6 in). The hairs of the underparts have gray tips. The tragus
Tragus
The tragus is a small pointed eminence of the external ear, situated in front of the concha, and projecting backward over the meatus. Its name comes from the Greek: tragos, goat, and is descriptive of its general covering on its under surface with a tuft of hair, resembling a goat's beard...
(a projection in the outer ear) is thick and blunt-tipped. The uropatagium (tail membrane) is well-furred and the palate
Palate
The palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but, in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separate. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior...
is concave
Concave
The word concave means curving in or hollowed inward, as opposed to convex. The former may be used in reference to:* Concave lens, a lens with inward-curving surfaces.* Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex....
.
Taxonomy
During the 2000s, molecular studies have revealed that the widely distributed African, Eurasian, and Australian genus MiniopterusMiniopterus
Miniopterus is a genus of bats and the only genus of the family Miniopteridae. The genus was previously placed in its own subfamily, Miniopterinae, of the vesper bat family, but is now classified in its own family....
is much more species-rich than previously thought. In a 1995 contribution to Faune de Madagascar on Malagasy bats, Randolph Peterson and colleagues listed four species of Miniopterus on Madagascar and the nearby Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
, including the small Miniopterus manavi with a broad distribution on both Madagascar and the Comoros. In 2008 and 2009, however, Steven Goodman
Steven Goodman
Steven Goodman is an American Conservation Biologist, and field biologist on staff in the Department of Zoology at the Field Museum of Natural History....
and colleagues presented evidence that the former concept of M. manavi in fact encompassed five morphologically and molecularly distinct species of small Miniopterus. These included M. manavi itself in the Central Highlands
Central Highlands (Madagascar)
The Central Highlands, Central High Plateau, or Hauts-Plateaux are a mountainous biogeographical region in central Madagascar. They include the contiguous part of the island's interior above 800 m altitude...
, M. griveaudi
Miniopterus griveaudi
Miniopterus griveaudi is a bat in the genus Miniopterus found on Grande Comore and Anjouan in the Comoros and in northern and western Madagascar. First described in 1959 from Grande Comore as a subspecies of the mainland African M. minor, it was later placed with the Malagasy M. manavi...
and M. aelleni
Miniopterus aelleni
Miniopterus aelleni is a bat in the genus Miniopterus that occurs on Anjouan in the Comoros and in northern and western Madagascar. It is a small, brown bat; its forearm length is 35 to 41 mm . The long tragus has a broad base and a blunt to rounded tip. The uropatagium is sparsely haired...
in the Comoros and northern and western Madagascar, M. brachytragos
Miniopterus brachytragos
Miniopterus brachytragos is a bat in the genus Miniopterus that occurs in northern and western Madagascar. Populations of this species have historically been included in Miniopterus manavi, but molecular data published in 2008 and 2009 indicate this supposed species in fact consists of five...
in northern and western Madagascar only, and M. mahafaliensis in southwestern Madagascar. The five recognized species of M. manavi-like bats are not each others' closest relatives, but apparently acquired their similarities through convergent evolution
Convergent evolution
Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, both birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are...
.
Miniopterus mahafaliensis was described as a new species in the second 2009 paper by Goodman and colleagues. The specific name is derived from the Malagasy
Malagasy language
Malagasy is the national language of Madagascar, a member of the Austronesian family of languages. Most people in Madagascar speak it as a first language as do some people of Malagasy descent elsewhere.-History:...
word Mahafaly, which refers to the Mahafaly Plateau, where the specimen has been recorded, and to the Mahafaly
Mahafaly
The Mahafaly are an ethnic group of Madagascar that inhabit the plains of the Betioky-Ampamihy area. Their name means either "those who make taboos" or "those who make happy", although the former is considered more likely by linguists...
ethnic group of the region. Analysis of sequences of the mitochondrial
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
cytochrome b
Cytochrome b
Cytochrome b/b6 is the main subunit of transmembrane cytochrome bc1 and b6f complexes. In addition, it commonly refers to a region of mtDNA used for population genetics and phylogenetics.- Function :...
gene suggested that M. brachytragos is most closely related to another Malagasy species, M. sororculus. Although samples of M. mahafaliensis differed from each other by a maximum of 2.2% in their cytochrome b, Goodman and colleagues could not discern any phylogeographic
Phylogeography
Phylogeography is the study of the historical processes that may be responsible for the contemporary geographic distributions of individuals. This is accomplished by considering the geographic distribution of individuals in light of the patterns associated with a gene genealogy.This term was...
structure within the species.
Description
Miniopterus mahafaliensis is a small, short-tailed Miniopterus with long and dense furFur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
. The fur of the upperparts is brown and the hairs on the underparts have gray tips. Miniopterus brachytragos is similar in color, but other small Malagasy Miniopterus are darker. The ears are partially haired above, but virtually naked below and end in a rounded tip. The tragus (a projection on the inner side of the outer ear) is relatively thick, has the sides mostly parallel, and ends in a curved, rounded tip. The wing membrane is also brown, but the uropatagium (tail membrane) is lighter. The wing membrane and uropatagium are attached to the upper leg at the same level, above the ankle. The uropatagium is relatively densely covered with hairs, particularly on the upper side. M. manavi and M. brachytragos also have a densely haired uropatagium, but in M. aelleni and M. griveaudi it is only sparsely haired or even mostly naked.
In 66 to 74 specimens measured by Goodman and colleagues, total length was 87 to 96 mm (3.4 to 3.8 in), averaging 91.1 mm (3.59 in); tail length was 38 to 48 mm (1.5 to 1.9 in), averaging 42.4 mm (1.67 in); hindfoot length is 6 to 7 mm (0.2 to 0.3 in), averaging 6.3 mm (0.25 in); tragus length was 5 to 6 mm (0.2 to 0.2 in), averaging 5.8 mm (0.23 in); ear length was 9 to 11 mm (about 0.4 in), averaging 9.4 mm (0.37 in); forearm length was 35 to 40 mm (1.4 to 1.6 in), averaging 37.4 mm (1.47 in); and body mass was 3.8 to 7.3 g (0.13 to 0.26 oz), averaging 4.9 g (0.17 oz). There is no evidence for substantial size differences between males and females
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
.
In the skull, the rostrum (front part) is relatively long and line-shaped. The central groove in the nasal depression is relatively narrow. The frontal bone
Frontal bone
The frontal bone is a bone in the human skull that resembles a cockleshell in form, and consists of two portions:* a vertical portion, the squama frontalis, corresponding with the region of the forehead....
s are slightly rounded and bear a prominent sagittal crest
Sagittal crest
A sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull of many mammalian and reptilian skulls, among others....
. Further back on the braincase, the lambdoid crest is also prominent. The middle part of the palate
Palate
The palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but, in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separate. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior...
is concave, not flat as in M. aelleni and M. manavi. At the palate's back margin is a long, thin posterior palatal spine.
Miniopterus mahafaliensis has 36 teeth in the dental formula (three incisor
Incisor
Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
s, one canine, three premolar
Premolar
The premolar teeth or bicuspids are transitional teeth located between the canine and molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per quadrant, making eight premolars total in the mouth. They have at least two cusps. Premolars can be considered as a 'transitional tooth' during chewing, or...
s, and two molar
Molar (tooth)
Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone"....
s in both upper toothrows and two incisors, one canine, two premolars, and three molars in the lower toothrows). As is characteristic of Miniopterus, the first upper premolar (P1) is smaller and more simplified than the second (P2).
Distribution and ecology
The range of Miniopterus mahafaliensis extends through southwestern Madagascar in the spiny forestMadagascar spiny thickets
The Madagascar spiny thickets is an ecoregion in Madagascar. The vegetation type is found on poor substrates with low, erratic winter rainfall. An estimated 14,000 to is covered with this habitat, all in the southwest of the country...
and dry forest, often but not always near caves; it has been found on the Mahafaly Plateau, in the Forêt des Mikea, and the Kirindy Mitea National Park
Kirindy Mitea National Park
Kirindy Mitea National Park is a national Park of Madagascar. It is situated in the Menabe Region.- External links :*...
. Further inland, it has been found in disturbed gallery forest
Gallery forest
Gallery forests are evergreen forests that form as corridors along rivers or wetlands and project into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands or deserts....
in Isalo National Park
Isalo National Park
Isalo National Park is a National Park in the Ihorombe Region of Madagascar. The park is known for its wide variety of terrain, including sandstone formations, deep canyons, palm-lined oases, and grassland. The closest town is Ranohira, and the closest city is Toliara. A local guide is required...
, in a cave in savanna habitat near Ihosy
Ihosy
Ihosy is a city in Ihorombe Region in central south Madagascar.Ihosy is the capital of Ihorombe Region.It is located on the Ihosy River and home to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ihosy....
, and in unspecified habitat at Betroka
Betroka
Betroka is a hilly city in Anosy Region in southern Madagascar, and is the source of the Onilahy River...
. Little is known of the ecology of M. mahafaliensis, but species of Miniopterus generally feed on insects, breed seasonally, and roost in large colonies in caves.
Literature cited
- Goodman, S.M., Maminirina, C.P., Weyeneth, N., Bradman, H.M., Christidis, L., Ruedi, M. and Appleton, B. 2009a. The use of molecular and morphological characters to resolve the taxonomic identity of cryptic species: the case of Miniopterus manavi (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae) (subscription required). Zoologica Scripta 38:339–363.
- Goodman, S.M., Maminirina, C.P., Bradman, H.M., Christidis, L. and Appleton, B. 2009b. The use of molecular phylogenetic and morphological tools to identify cryptic and paraphyletic species: Examples from the diminutive long-fingered bats (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae: Miniopterus) on Madagascar. American Museum Novitates 3669:1–34.
- Nowak, R.M. 1994. Walker's Bats of the World. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 287 pp. ISBN 9780801849862
- Weyeneth, N., Goodman, S.M., Stanley, W.T. and Ruedi, M. 2008. The biogeography of Miniopterus bats (Chiroptera: Miniopteridae) from the Comoro Archipelago inferred from mitochondrial DNA (subscription required). Molecular Ecology 17:5205–5219.