A new species of the genus Murina (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from the Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

The tube-nosed bats (genus Murina) are small insectivorous mammals that are primarily distributed in South, East, and Southeast Asia. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has long been an understudied region in bat surveys, especially for species of small arboreal bats, including Murina. In 2023, we surv...

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Main Authors: Pengfei Luo, Mingle Mao, Chengrui Yan, Qingqing He, Qin Yang, Huaiqing Deng, Ning Xiao, Jiang Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pensoft Publishers 2025-05-01
Series:Zoosystematics and Evolution
Online Access:https://zse.pensoft.net/article/147349/download/pdf/
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author Pengfei Luo
Mingle Mao
Chengrui Yan
Qingqing He
Qin Yang
Huaiqing Deng
Ning Xiao
Jiang Zhou
author_facet Pengfei Luo
Mingle Mao
Chengrui Yan
Qingqing He
Qin Yang
Huaiqing Deng
Ning Xiao
Jiang Zhou
author_sort Pengfei Luo
collection DOAJ
description The tube-nosed bats (genus Murina) are small insectivorous mammals that are primarily distributed in South, East, and Southeast Asia. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has long been an understudied region in bat surveys, especially for species of small arboreal bats, including Murina. In 2023, we surveyed the southeastern QTP and collected seven individual specimens of Murina. The specimens were identified using combined morphological and molecular data (the mitochondrial Cyt b gene). Phylogenetic analyses identified three unknown clades: Murina sp1, Murina sp2, and Murina sp3. Murina sp1 was most closely related to M. pluvialis, with a genetic distance of 0.09. Murina sp2 was most closely related to M. shuipuensis, with a genetic distance of 0.13, and Murina sp3 was most closely related to M. chrysochaetes, with a genetic distance of 0.15. All three species delimitation methods supported the partitioning of Murina sp1, Murina sp2, and Murina sp3. Herein, we describe a new species, Murina chayuensis sp. nov. (Murina sp1.), that is similar to M. annamitica and M. lorelieae. Owing to the limited number of specimens, Murina sp2 and Murina sp3 are not described in this study. Our results highlight the overlooked diversity of bats in the southeastern QTP, and thus this group warrants further surveys and taxonomic studies.
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institution OA Journals
issn 1860-0743
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Pensoft Publishers
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series Zoosystematics and Evolution
spelling doaj-art-474d77ec2a154b2f88fbd461533c0b2d2025-08-20T02:01:28ZengPensoft PublishersZoosystematics and Evolution1860-07432025-05-01101398399710.3897/zse.101.147349147349A new species of the genus Murina (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from the Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, ChinaPengfei Luo0Mingle Mao1Chengrui Yan2Qingqing He3Qin Yang4Huaiqing Deng5Ning Xiao6Jiang Zhou7Beijing Forestry UniversityGuizhou Normal UniversityGuizhou Normal UniversityGuizhou Normal UniversityGuizhou Normal UniversityGuizhou Normal UniversityGuiyang Healthcare Vocational UniversityGuizhou Normal UniversityThe tube-nosed bats (genus Murina) are small insectivorous mammals that are primarily distributed in South, East, and Southeast Asia. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has long been an understudied region in bat surveys, especially for species of small arboreal bats, including Murina. In 2023, we surveyed the southeastern QTP and collected seven individual specimens of Murina. The specimens were identified using combined morphological and molecular data (the mitochondrial Cyt b gene). Phylogenetic analyses identified three unknown clades: Murina sp1, Murina sp2, and Murina sp3. Murina sp1 was most closely related to M. pluvialis, with a genetic distance of 0.09. Murina sp2 was most closely related to M. shuipuensis, with a genetic distance of 0.13, and Murina sp3 was most closely related to M. chrysochaetes, with a genetic distance of 0.15. All three species delimitation methods supported the partitioning of Murina sp1, Murina sp2, and Murina sp3. Herein, we describe a new species, Murina chayuensis sp. nov. (Murina sp1.), that is similar to M. annamitica and M. lorelieae. Owing to the limited number of specimens, Murina sp2 and Murina sp3 are not described in this study. Our results highlight the overlooked diversity of bats in the southeastern QTP, and thus this group warrants further surveys and taxonomic studies.https://zse.pensoft.net/article/147349/download/pdf/
spellingShingle Pengfei Luo
Mingle Mao
Chengrui Yan
Qingqing He
Qin Yang
Huaiqing Deng
Ning Xiao
Jiang Zhou
A new species of the genus Murina (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from the Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China
Zoosystematics and Evolution
title A new species of the genus Murina (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from the Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China
title_full A new species of the genus Murina (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from the Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China
title_fullStr A new species of the genus Murina (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from the Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China
title_full_unstemmed A new species of the genus Murina (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from the Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China
title_short A new species of the genus Murina (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from the Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China
title_sort new species of the genus murina chiroptera vespertilionidae from the southeastern qinghai tibetan plateau china
url https://zse.pensoft.net/article/147349/download/pdf/
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