Molecular Phylogenetics of the New World Bat Genus Phyllostomus Based on Cytochrome b DNA Sequence Variation

A 402 bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and directly sequenced for all five recognized species of the New World bat genus Phyllostomus as well as three additional representatives of the tribe Phyllostomini ( Macrophyllum , Lonchorhina , Tonatia ) to evaluate: a) whether the genus Phyllostomus , with the inclusion of P. stenops , comprises a monophyletic group; b) the phylogenetic relationships within this genus; c) the hypothesis that these five species diverged at approximately the same evolutionary time. Within Phyllostomus , percent-sequence divergence ranged from 7.0% ( P. latifolious compared with P. discolor ) to 13.4% ( P. elongatus compared with P. stenops ) with a mean of 10.6%. It is concluded that the five species of Phyllostomus (including P. stenops ) comprise a natural assemblage and that the sister-group relationship of P. elongatus and P. hastatus is in agreement with immunologic data. The possibility that P. stenops, P. latifolious, P. discolor , and the lineage giving rise to the P. elongatus / P. hastatus clade diverged at the same approximate geologic time cannot be ruled out by the available data.