Hidden Diversity of African Yellow House Bats (Vespertilionidae, Scotophilus): Insights from Multilocus Phylogenetics and Lineage Delimitation

摘要: The genus Scotophilus contains 21 currently recognized species ranging throughout Africa and Southeast Asia. Among the 13 from continental Africa, systematic relationships remain poorly understood. Taxonomic uncertainty regarding names, suggestions of polytypic complexes, undescribed cryptic diversity all contribute to current confusion. To gain insights into systematics this group, we inferred single locus multi-locus phylogenies conducted lineage delimitation analyses using seven unlinked genes for specimens across Africa. Recent collections Kenya allowed us carry out population-level diverse assemblage East African Scotophilus. Multi-locus coalescent methods indicated strong support three recently named lineages thought be restricted Tanzania; it also uncovered two new distinctive at present known only Kenya. Subsequent taxonomic assessments that integrate these genetic data with phenotypic, distributional, and/or ecological traits are needed establish as valid species. Nevertheless, many 15 may occur in 10 alone. Our analysis highlights importance surveys detection understudied regions such Afrotropics.