Taxonomy and morphological evolution in Mormoopidae: a geometric morphometric approach including fossil data.

• Grant number: 16/23565-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: April 01, 2017
• End date: March 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Alexandre Reis Percequillo
• Grantee: Ana Carolina D'Oliveira Pavan
• Supervisor: Nancy B. Simmons
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: American Museum of Natural History, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/02132-7 - Systematics and taxonomy of family Mormoopidae (Chiroptera), BP.PD

Abstract

Mormoopidae is a group of insectivorous bats widely distributed in Neotropics. It includes two genera, Mormoops, with two extant species, and Pteronotus, which is represented by 16 extant species according to the most recent taxonomic update. Additionally, two extinct species are described from fossil deposits in Cuba and several extralimital records of the extant species are known from Quaternary deposits, suggesting mormoopids once were more diverse and geographically wider than in the present. This rich fossil record offers an excellent opportunity for better understanding the patterns of morphological variation and the history of diversification of this bat group. Therefore, the present project aims to investigate the taxonomy, phylogenetic diversity and temporal variation in the cranial shape of mormoopids analyzing recent and fossil specimens. A comparative study of Pteronotus species is proposed in the search for potentially informative characters for taxonomic delimitation. More, a three-dimensional (3D) dataset for extant mormoopid species is available and additional 3D data will be collected for fossil specimens using a 3D surface scanner. This large landmark dataset will be explored through geometric morphometric tools for investigating patterns of cranial evolution and inserting fossil lineages in a phylogenetic framework. Shape analyses will enable the identification of distinct morphological trends in the mormoopid phylogeny, providing valuable information for differentiating closely related species. Likewise, these analyses will provide insights on the intraspecific shape evolution of some mormoopid lineages. Finally, the availability of shape information and a robust phylogenetic hypothesis represent powerful sources of data for performing phylogenetic inferences including extinct lineages of Mormoopidae.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PAVAN, ANA CAROLINA; CADENILLAS, RICHARD; CENTTY, OSCAR; PACHECO, VICTOR; VELAZCO, PAUL M.. On the taxonomic identity of Pteronotus davyi incae Smith, 1972 (Chiroptera: Mormoopidae). American Museum Novitates, n. 3966, p. 1-23, MAR 9 2021. (16/23565-1, 15/02132-7)

PAVAN, ANA C.; BOBROWIEC, PAULO E. D.; PERCEQUILLO, ALEXANDRE R.. Geographic variation in a South American clade of mormoopid bats, Pteronotus (Phyllodia), with description of a new species. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY, v. 99, n. 3, p. 624-645, JUN 1 2018. (16/23565-1, 15/02132-7, 09/16009-1)