Characterization of 14 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the lesser horseshoe bat,Rhinolophus hipposideros (Rhinolophidae,Chiroptera)

Fourteen polymorphic microsatellites isolated in the lesser horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus hipposideros, are described. A subset of eight loci successfully coamplified in a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and allowed to confirm that expected heterozygosity was relatively high for the eight loci (0.56–0.83). This set of eight microsatellites indeed permits to build genetic tags that distinguish all individuals in colonies consisting of up to more than 1000 individuals.     

Development of 19 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the intermediate horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus affinis (Rhinolophidae, Chiroptera)

The intermediate horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus affinis) is a widespread species in Southeast Asia. We developed 19 novel microsatellite loci from an enriched genomic library of the bat, and tested their polymorphism using a single population from Guangdong province, southern China. The number of alleles ranged from 3 to 15 per locus with the expected and observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.397 to 0.920 and 0.280–0.926, respectively. Three markers significantly deviated from the Hardy-Weinberg expectations after Bonferroni correction and no linkage disequilibrium was detected in any of loci. These microsatellite loci will be useful in studying the phylogeography of this species.     

中国大陆菊头蝠科一新纪录——单角菊头蝠(Rhinolophus monoceros Andersen,1905)

During a survey of bat species diversity from July 2008 to February 2009 in Songtao county of Guizhou Province, one specimen of Rhinolophus was collected from Guizhou. It was identified as a Formosan lesser horseshoe bat, based on the following features: small body size, forearm length of 36. 3mm, the greatest length of skull was 15.16 mm, the cells of lancet were shorter and appeared triangular and showed an acute angle, and forward bending, the lancet was shorter and approximately triangular and had a narrow top, the anterior median swellings of the skull were higher and more vertical, the rear of the sagittal crest was thin, the upper molars were shorter and the length of C~1 - M~3 was 5. 36 mm, the width of M~3 M~3 was 5.24 mm. Rhinolophus monoceros, which is new record in Guizhou and the first found on the Chinese mainland, supports Simmons' prediction that Rhinolophus monoceros may occur in the south of China.     

A new species of Rhinolophus (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) from China

A new species of the genus Rhinolophus is described from Yunnan Province, southwestern China. The new taxon belongs to the Rhinolophus "philippinensis-group" and is distinguished by differences in the nose-leaf structures, craniodental characteristics, and bacular features.     

基于线粒体16S rRNA基因部分序列探讨贵州9种菊头蝠(翼手目:菊头蝠科)的分子系统进化关系

依据部分线粒体16S rRNA基因序列,我们对贵州九种菊头蝠进行了分子系统进化关系研究.结果表明:马铁菊头蝠与其他菊头蝠亲缘关系较远,它可能是最原始的种类.中华菊头蝠和贵州菊头蝠聚在同一分支,表明它们之间亲缘关系非常接近,高鞍菊头蝠和贵州菊头蝠的DNA差异百分比最小(1.13%),因此认为这两个种亲缘关系也非常接近.     

A new species of horseshoe bat of the genus Rhinolophus from China (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)

A new species of the Rhinolophus philippinensis group (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) is described from Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiangxi Provinces in China. Rhinolophus huananus n. sp. is characterized by the horseshoe, as well as by external and cranial characteristics that separate it at the species level from the other members of the philippinensis group. One of the small species of the philippinensis group, R. huananus is intermediate in size between smaller R. siamensis and larger R. macrotis.     

The complete mitochondrial genome of the greater horseshoe bat subspecies, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum korai (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)

The total length of the mitogenome of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum korai is 16,839?bp with a total base composition of 31.8% A, 25.4% T, 28.7% C, and 14.0% G. The mitogenome consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA (12S and 16S RNA) genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 1 control region.     

Morphometric variation in the pusillus group of the genus Rhinolophus (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) in East Asia

Based on 203 specimens belonging to the Rhinolophus "pusillus group" (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae), univariate and multivariate morphometric analyses using 19 characters were performed to assess the confused species taxonomy. The results indicated that R. pusillus (including calidus, parcus, and szechuanus) in the continental region and Hainan Island of China and "R. cornutus" in Japan are morphologically divergent species. Rhinolophus cornutus should be further split into R. cornutus (including orii, pumilus, and miyakonis) in the main islands of Japan, the Amami and Okinawa Group of the central Ryukyu Archipelago, and Miyako Group of the southern Ryukyus; and R. perditus and R. imaizumii from the Yaeyama Group in the southern Ryukyus. Rhinolophus monoceros from Taiwan is morphologically more similar to species in Japan than to R. pusillus. In addition to R. pusillus, another form that is morphologically similar to species in Japan was recognized from Langzhong in Sichuan Province; this may represent an undescribed species, and further examination is necessary to determine its taxonomic status. Specimens from Guang'an in Sichuan Province, China, are also different from the others, and are characterized by the smallest skull size. Although further studies are required, these specimens were tentatively identified as R. subbadius.     

椰心叶甲啮小蜂的繁殖生物学研究

对椰心叶甲啮小蜂羽化、求偶、交配、产卵、繁殖现象进行了观察研究。结果表明,补充营养对雌蜂的寿命和繁殖力均有影响。没有补充营养的情况下,雌蜂的平均寿命为2.48 d,一生可产21.43粒卵;每天补充10%蜜糖水,且雌蜂与寄主(椰心叶甲初蛹)比例为1:3时,雌蜂平均寿命为13.43 d,一生可产53.6粒卵;每天补充10%蜜糖水,且雌蜂与寄主(椰心叶甲初蛹)比例为1:1时,雌蜂平均寿命为14.78 d,一生可产42.5粒卵。椰心叶甲啮小蜂对水椰八角铁甲蛹的寄生率为82.25%,平均每寄主出蜂量为12.24头。     

Reproductive biology of Lactoris fernandeziana (Lactoridaceae)

Lactoris fernandeziana, monotypic in its family, is endemic to the cloud forests of Robinson Crusoe Island. Although there has been considerable study of the relationships of Lactoris, as a rare species and as a putative primitive paleoherb, little is known of its reproductive biology. Knowledge of the latter is essential for effective conservation programs. The species is gynomonoecious. The overall proportion of flowers is ∼1 female:1 hermaphrodite. The inconspicuous semipendulous green flowers, usually in mixed-gender inflorescences, do not produce rewards. Hermaphrodite flowers are herkogamous and protogynous. Pollen grains are shed from the extrorse anthers in permanent dry tetrads. There is a mean of 12879 tetrads per hermaphrodite flower. Both flower types bear an average of ∼18 ovules. The P/O (pollen/ovule) ratios imply facultative or obligate xenogamy, but hand pollinations show that Lactoris is self-compatible. No floral visitors were ever observed, but stigmata of open-pollinated flowers bore tetrads, and 64% of such styles had pollen tubes. Flowers enclosed in large mesh (1 mm) bags bore similar numbers of tetrads and pollen tubes. Thus, we conclude that Lactoris is anemophilous, a syndrome perhaps reflected by the P/O ratio. Low genetic diversity (isozymes and DNA) supports selfing and implies limited distance wind pollen dispersal. The small size of the island, the ± 1000 extant Lactoris plants, coupled with anemophily, self-compatibility, and pendant flower position, have yielded a geitonogamous system with high seed set and low genetic diversity. If inbreeding depression is expressed, it is in seed germination and seedling vigor, for Lactoris is very difficult to cultivate. For this species, effective conservation practices need to focus on habitat preservation and promotion of outcrossing.     

Reproductive biology of Cyrtopodium polyphyllum (Orchidaceae): a Cyrtopodiinae pollinated by deceit

The genus Cyrtopodium comprises about 42 species distributed from southern Florida to northern Argentina. Cyrtopodium polyphyllum occurs on rocks or in sandy soils, in restinga vegetation along the Brazilian coast. It flowers during the wet season and its inflorescences produce a high number of resupinate yellow flowers. Cyrtopodium polyphyllum offers no rewards to its pollinators, but mimics the yellow, reward-producing flowers of nearby growing Stigmaphyllon arenicola (oil) and Crotalaria vitellina (nectar) individuals. Several species of bee visit flowers of C. polyphyllum , but only two species of Centris ( Centris tarsata and Centris labrosa ) act as pollinators. Visits to flowers of C. polyphyllum were scarce and, as a consequence, low-fruit set was recorded under natural conditions. Such low-fruit production contrasts with the number of fruits each plant bears after manual pollination, suggesting deficient pollen transfer among plants. C. polyphyllum is self-compatible and has a high-fruit set in both manual self- and cross-pollinated flowers. Furthermore, fruits (2%) are formed by self-pollination assisted by rain. This facultative self-pollination mechanism is an important strategy to provide reproductive assurance to C. polyphyllum as rainfall restricts the foraging activity of its pollinating bees. Fruits derived from treatments and under natural conditions had a similar high rate of potentially viable seed. Moreover, these seeds had a low polyembryony rate, which did not exceed 5%. C. polyphyllum acts by deceit involving optical signals and exploits other yellow-flowered species within its habitat by attracting their pollinators. The low capsule production under natural conditions was expected, but its reproductive success is assured through self-pollination by rain and high seed viability.     

Contribution to the Ectoparasite Fauna of Bats (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae,Rhinolophidae) of Crimea

New data are presented on the ectoparasite fauna of several species of vesper and horseshoe bats (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae, Rhinolophidae) of the Crimean Peninsula. In the studied territory, 11 species of ectoparasites (mites and insects) have been collected from 6 bat species; 2 of the ectoparasite species were new to Crimea. Findings of gamasid mites Ichoronyssus scutatus on an unusual host are discussed. The gamasid mite Spinturnix emarginatus (Acari: Mesostigmata: Gamasina) is described for the territory of Russia for the first time.     

Origins of Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus, Rhinolophidae) in Southern Africa: Evidence from Allozyme Variability

Morphological analyses indicate that horsehose bats in the genus Rhinolophus constitute a monophyletic group which most likely originated in southeastern Asia but which presently inhabits Oriental, Australian, Palaearctic, and Ethiopian zoogeographical provinces. Ten species occur in southern Africa, but it is uncertain which species represent dispersals from Eurasia through North Africa and which have resulted from speciation in Africa. Analyses of 34 allozyme encoding loci in these 10 species and in 2 southern African species of leafnose bats in the sister genus Hipposideros reveal the presence of at least three lineages of Rhinolophus in southern Africa. One lineage includes R. clivosus, R. darlingi, R. fumigatus, and R. hildebrandtii, all of which, except R. clivosus, are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Rhinolophus blasii is genetically allied with, but distinct from this group, and appears to be a recent migrant from another lineage centered on the Mediterranean. A third lineage, including at least R. capensis, R. denti, R. simulator, and R. swinnyi, is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. The phylogenetic position of R. landeri is uncertain, most likely because of the small sample size used to estimate allelic frequencies for this species. The biochemical genetic definitions of these lineages largely agree with previous morphological analyses of Rhinolophus species. Divergences between species within two lineages (R. clivosus, R. darlingi, R. fumigatus, and R. hildebrandtii; and R. capensis, R. denti, R. simulator, and R. swinnyi) appear to reflect two bursts of speciation in the Plio-Pleistocene period within Africa.