Molecular and morphological data suggest a new species of big-eared bat (Vespertilionidae: Corynorhinus) endemic to northeastern Mexico

Abstract

Corynorhinus mexicanus is an insectivorous bat endemic to Mexico that inhabits the high and humid regions of the Sierra Madre Oriental (SMO), the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB), and the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMOC). A previous study suggested that C. mexicanus could be a cryptic species complex due to the genetic divergence observed between specimens from the TMVB and SMOC. The present study implemented phylogenetic, population genetics, and morphological analyses to evaluate the hypothesis that C. mexicanus is a species complex. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that C. mexicanus is a polyphyletic species composed of three indirectly related lineages. The estimated divergence times for the lineages suggest that they first originated during the Pliocene, while the second and third shared a common ancestor with C. townsendii 1.55 million years ago, and diverged 600,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene. The population genetics analysis reveals the SMO lineage of C. mexicanus is an isolated genetic group and highly diverged from the rest of lineages (SMOC and TMVB). The morphological analyses showed variation in the skull and mandible associated with the lineages and sex of the specimens, highlighting a difference in mandible shape between the specimens of the SMO and the rest of C. mexicanus. The results of this study suggest the presence of an undescribed species of the genus Corynorhinus.