中科院昆明動(dòng)物研究所、墨西哥生態(tài)研究所和加拿大安大略皇家博物館的研究人員共同確定了翼手目（蝙蝠）菊頭蝠科一新種——楔鞍菊頭蝠(Rhinolophus xinanzhongguoensis),。該成果已發(fā)表在今年2月出版的《哺乳動(dòng)物學(xué)雜志》（Journal of Mammalogy）,。
該研究課題主要由中科院昆明動(dòng)物研究所哺乳動(dòng)物生態(tài)與進(jìn)化學(xué)科組的蔣學(xué)龍研究員和博士研究生周昭敏以及墨西哥生態(tài)研究所的Antonio Guillén-Servent教授承擔(dān)，共同作者還有王應(yīng)祥研究員以及安大略皇家博物館的Burton K. Lim博士和Judith L. Eger博士,。
菊頭蝠是舊大陸的物種，分布于歐、亞,、非和澳洲,，為單型科，現(xiàn)有79種,已有的形態(tài)分類系統(tǒng)將其分為15個(gè)種組,。其中l(wèi)anderi種組的種類主要在非洲分布,，其鼻葉形態(tài)與楔鞍菊頭蝠相似即有尖的角狀聯(lián)接葉和楔形鞍狀葉，但體型明顯較小,，而同域分布的其它體型較大的菊頭蝠都具圓鈍的聯(lián)接葉,。因此，我們確定楔鞍菊頭蝠為一新種,。
已有證據(jù)表明,，菊頭蝠起源于始新世中晚期（3700萬年前），在早中新世晚期（1500萬年前）開始快速分化,，現(xiàn)生的菊頭蝠中,，除了早期分化出的Aquias（5種）和Phyllorhina（1種）支系，其余物種分屬于非洲-古北和亞洲兩大支系,。
經(jīng)過形態(tài)學(xué)和分子生物學(xué)的綜合比較,，楔鞍菊頭蝠被證實(shí)與非洲-古北支系有更緊密的親緣關(guān)系。該新種是迄今發(fā)現(xiàn)的第二個(gè)在亞洲有分布,，但在系統(tǒng)發(fā)育上隸屬于非洲-古北支系的物種（另一個(gè)是馬鐵菊頭蝠,，R. ferrumequinum）。它的發(fā)現(xiàn)豐富了我們對(duì)整個(gè)印度馬來地區(qū)菊頭蝠物種多樣性認(rèn)識(shí),，揭示了晚中新世（1000萬年前）氣候變暖使當(dāng)時(shí)的撒哈拉,、中東和印度次大陸北部地區(qū)比現(xiàn)今更適宜于菊頭蝠生活，并為菊頭蝠在埃塞俄比亞界和古北界東西部間擴(kuò)散提供了適宜條件,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Journal of Mammalogy,，DOI: 10.1644/08-MAMM-A-048.1，Zhao-Min Zhou,，Xue-Long Jiang
A New Species from Southwestern China in the Afro-Palearctic Lineage of the Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus)
Zhao-Min Zhou1, 2, Antonio Guillén-Servent3, Burton K. Lim4, Judith L. Eger4, Ying-Xiang Wang1, and Xue-Long Jiang1
1. State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 32 Jiaochang Donglu, Kunming 650223, Yunnan, China (Z-MZ, Y-XW, X-LJ), 2. Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China (Z-MZ), 3. Instituto de Ecología A.C., Km 2.5 Carretera Antigua a Coatepec #351, Xalapa 91070, Veracruz, México (AG-S), 4. Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6, Canada (BKL, JLE)
A new species of horseshoe bat (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) is described from southwestern China. The presence of a wedge-shaped sella and pointed connecting process of the nose leaf aligns the new species to the landeri group in the Afro-Palearctic lineage of Rhinolophus. However, the new species is distinctly separable from these allopatrically distributed species by its noticeably larger body size. Other sympatric large-sized species of Rhinolophus have rounded connecting processes. Molecular systematic analyses based on mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences confirmed the affinity of the new species to the Afro-Palearctic lineage, but in a clade most closely related to the ferrumequinum, fumigatus, and maclaudi groups. Of these species, only R. ferrumequinum ranges into Asia and overlaps in distribution with the new species. R. ferrumequinum is similar in general body size and external appearance; however, the new species is distinct in the characteristics of the nose leaf, skull, and baculum. The presence of a new species from southwestern China in the Afro-Palearctic lineage indicates a more complex historical biogeographic scenario within Rhinolophus than previously known. The difficulties found in allocating the new species to one of the phenetically described traditional species groups stress the convenience of using a phylogenetically based systematic organization of the genus Rhinolophus.
