Molecular systematics of the Chinese Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) inferred from cytochrome-b sequences

We recently sequenced the cytochrome-b gene of six Chinese Myotis species, added their molecular systematics into the previous molecular phylogenetic studies on the Old World Myotis, and clarified the phylogenetic status of these East Asian species. The results demonstrate that most Old World Myotis are divided into six clades, namely Clade I-Clade VII and the Ethiopian Clade. All the daubentonii'' species referred to here, such as Myotis capaccinii, M. daubentonii, M. longipes, M. fimbriatus, and M. macrodactylus, are divergent from each other, indicating that the questionable species M. longipes and M. fimbriatus are valid species, and supports that the morphological and behavioral resemblance in the daubentonii'' group are caused by convergent evolution. Myotis altarium forms a monophyletic group with two allopatric species M. ikonnikovi and M. mystacinus, suggesting that their morphological differences might have been caused by their eco-environmental differences. Our data also imply the abundance of species diversity in a certain clade, which consists of M. davidii, M. siligorensis, M. longipes, and two unidentified species M. sp1 and M. sp2.