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The Stasis and Possible Patterns of Selection in Evolution of a Group of Related Species from the Bat Genus Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)

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Abstract

Phenotypic evolutionary rates were measured for craniometric characters in five extant closely related OTUs from the bat genus Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae): M. myotis, M. blythii oxygnathus, M. b. omari, M. b. blythii, and M. nattereri using Lynch’s and Gingerich’s approaches. Cranial shape appeared to be more conservative than cranial size. Estimates for evolutionary rates were found to be lower than expected if the divergence had been produced solely by mutation and random drift. So, it can be concluded that stabilizing selection was the principal factor that maintained craniometric characters during the evolution of the studied species and prevented their greater diversification. The observed differences between the OTUs could be established by random drift or directional selection of rather moderate intensity. The rates of divergence between the ancestors of M. nattereri and the common ancestors of M. blythii and M. myotis apparently were higher than the rates of following divergence between M. myotis, M. b. oxygnathus, M. b. omari and M. b. blythii.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Maria Ghazali for valuable comments, discussions, and help in preparation of the paper. I thank the curators and staffs of the zoological museums, who afforded an opportunity to work with collections. I am indebted to J.R. Wible, P.D. Polly, and the anonymous reviewer for suggestions and criticisms that improved this article. Thanks also are due to V.M. Tytar, E.I. Kozhurina, P.P. Strelkov, and I.K. Rakhmatulina for help and valuable comments. M. Macholán, R. Lande, B.F.J. Manly, E.I. Kozhurina, B. Sigé, I. Horáček, P. Benda, S.R. Hoofer, P. Berthier, A.P. Hendry, S.S. Heppell, and B. Stadelmann kindly presented reprints of articles hardly accessible in Eastern Europe.

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  1. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, Bogdan Khmelnytskyi str. 15, UA 01601, Kiev, Ukraine

    Igor Dzeverin

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  1. Igor Dzeverin
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Correspondence to Igor Dzeverin.

Appendix

Appendix

List of the examined specimens:

Myotis myotis

Central Europe and Transcarpathia: ZMMU 74649, 83990, 103902, 103905, 103910; ZMKU 1897-1905; NMNH 230/4, 233/7, 243/17, 245/19, 247/21, 249/23, 841/1.

Ciscarpathia: ZMMU 49163; NMNH 2615/25, 2616/26, 4302/24.

Balkan peninsula: ZINR 35042, 35043, 35044, 48062–48066.

Myotis blythii oxygnathus

Central Europe and Transcarpathia: ZMMU 74647, 83984, 100759, 100760, 100762, 100765, 100768, 100773, 100775, 100776, 100782–100786, 100791, 100793, 100795–100797, 100799, 100801–100803; NMNH 200/6, 201/7, 204/10, 205/11, 207/13, 208/14, 209/15, 211/17, 213/19, 214/20, 216/22, 220/26, 221/27, 222/28, 839/1.

Moldova: ZINR 55662, 55669, 55672, 55673.

Balkan peninsula: ZINR 35050–35053, 48053, 48055–48057.

Crimean peninsula: ZMMU 101031, 101032, 101034, 101035, 101038; ZMKU 1830, 1839, 1844, 1848, 1850, 1873, 1881, 1885, 1890, 1894, 1895, 4888, 4890, 4892–4895; NMNH 5668/45, 5670/43, 5672/45.

Myotis blythii omari

Crete Island: ZINR 35055–35057.

Ciscaucasia: ZMMU 7818, 7819, 7822, 12534, 12535, 29207, 29212, 29275, 46603, 46605, 46606, 46893, 101051, 101052, 135840; VDMU 2257, 2260, 2262; TCH 2/1, 2/2, 1/1.

Northwestern Transcaucasia: ZMMU 83988, 102394–102396, 102398–102400, 102402, 102403, 102405; IZA 207.

Southeastern Transcaucasia: ZMMU 40912, 83986, 101048, 101050, 101054; IZA 177–183, 185, 186, 188, 293, 294, 296, 297, 299, 300, 301, 303, 306, 309, 310, 313, 315, 316, 318, 319, 325, 326, 328–331, 333, 334, 339, 351, 361; NMNH 840/2.

Northern Iran and Southern Turkmenistan (Kopet-Dagh Mountains): ZMMU 83989, 105054; ZINR 11227, 11227bis, 11243, 11244, 11257, 11276, 11289, 11293, 11325, 11330, 59565, 59569, 63906, 63908–63914, 63922, 63925.

Myotis blythii blythii

Eastern Turkmenistan (Kugitang Mountains) and Southern Uzbekistan (the Surkhan-Darya region): ZMMU 94713, 94714, 94716; NMNH 2617/33.

Eastern Uzbekistan (the Dzhizak and Tashkent regions) and Southern Kazakhstan (vicinities of Chymkent): ZMMU 83985, 83987, 94711, 100408–100410, 100413, 100414, 100416–100419, 100421, 100423, 100425, 100428, 100432, 100434, 100435, 100437–100443, 100445–100449, 100452, 150329; ZMKU 3842, 3844; ZINR 62131, 62133, 62134, 62136, 62137, 62139–62143, 62145–62148.

Tajikistan (vicinities of Dushanbe and Peter the First ridge) and Southwestern Kyrgyzstan (Osh region): ZMMU 71109, 71111, 71113, 94712, 111843.

Southeastern Kazakhstan (vicinities of Almaty): ZMMU 100134–100136, 100139, 100141–100149, 100153, 100155–100158, 100164–100167, 100170–100172, 100174, 100176, 100177, 100179, 100180, 100182, 100184–100188, 100191, 100193.

Myotis nattereri

ZMMU 83995; VDMU 199; ZINR 55695, 46638; IZA 610.

Collections acronyms: Institute of Zoology of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Baku, Azerbaijan (IZA); National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine (NMNH); Tchernogolovka biological station of Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow region, Russia (TCH); Department of Vertebrate Zoology of Moscow University, Moscow, Russia (VDMU); Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, St. Petersburg, Russia (ZINR); Zoological Museum of Kiev University, Kiev, Ukraine (ZMKU); Zoological Museum of Moscow University, Moscow, Russia (ZMMU).

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Dzeverin, I. The Stasis and Possible Patterns of Selection in Evolution of a Group of Related Species from the Bat Genus Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae). J Mammal Evol 15, 123–142 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-007-9071-5

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