Abstract:
The genus Myotis is nearly cosmopolitan and the second-most speciose genus of mammals, but its Afrotropical
members are few and poorly known. We analyzed phylogenetic and phylogeographic relationships of six of
the eight known Afrotropical species using Cytb and sequences from four nuclear introns. Using Bayesian
and maximum-likelihood approaches to generate single-locus, concatenated, and species trees, we confirmed
prior evidence that the clade containing Afrotropical Myotis also contains both Palearctic and Indomalayan
members. Additionally, we demonstrate that M. bocagii is sister to the Indian Ocean species M. anjouanensis,
that this group is sister to M. tricolor and the Palearctic M. emarginatus, and find evidence suggesting that
M. welwitschii is the earliest-diverging Afrotropical species and sister to the remainder. Although M. tricolor
and M. welwitschii are both currently regarded as monotypic, both mitochondrial and nuclear data sets document
significant, largely concordant geographic structure in each. Evidence for the distinction of two lineages within
M. tricolor is particularly strong. On the other hand, geographic structure is lacking in M. bocagii, despite the
current recognition of two subspecies in that species. Additional geographic sampling (especially at or near type
localities), finer-scale sampling (especially in zones of sympatry), and integrative taxonomic assessments will be
needed to better document this radiation and refine its nomenclature.
