Evaluation of the paraphyletic assemblages within Lonchophyllinae, with description of a new tribe and genus

Abstract

In the past decade, six new species and one new genus have been described in the Lonchophyllinae (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), increasing the number of recognized taxa in the subfamily to four genera and 17 species. During this time, three studies, both morphologic and genetic, indicated the genus Lonchophylla was paraphyletic with respect to other genera in the subfamily. Using tissues from museum voucher specimens, including the holotypes of specimens of Xeronycteris vieirai and Lonchophylla pattoni, issues related to the previous paraphyletic assemblages were addressed. A combination of mitochondrial (Cytb), nuclear data (Fgb-I7, TSHB-I2), chromosome diploid and fundamental numbers, and morphologic characters was used to determine whether all species of Lonchophylla share a common ancestor after diverging from other genera in the subfamily. Based on gene sequence data, a basal, monophyletic, statistically supported radiation within the subfamily Lonchophyllinae was observed in all phylogenetic analyses. We conclude that this assemblage merits recognition as a new tribe and genus, and, therefore, present formal descriptions of the genus as Hsunycteris and the tribe as Hsunycterini. Several other issues related to paraphyly within both the genus Hsunycteris and tribe Lonchophyllini were not resolvable at this time, including that the genus Lonchophylla is paraphyletic and Hsunycteris thomasi contains four genetic species. A species in the genus Hsunycteris remains undescribed because it was not possible to determine which of two lineages the type specimen of H. thomasi is actually a member. Until additional genetic and/or morphologic data are available, resolution of all paraphyletic relationships is not possible. Future studies that focus on utilizing morphologic and genetic (both mitochondrial and nuclear) data from the type specimens of species of Lonchophylla and species of Hsunycteris thomasi are needed to resolve these remaining questions.