Biology Faculty Articles

A Molecular Phylogeny for Bats Illuminates Biogeography and the Fossil Record

ORCID

0000-0001-7353-8301

ResearcherID

N-1726-2015

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Science

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

1-28-2005

Abstract

Bats make up more than 20% of extant mammals, yet their evolutionary history is largely unknown because of a limited fossil record and conflicting or incomplete phylogenies. Here, we present a highly resolved molecular phylogeny for all extant bat families. Our results support the hypothesis that megabats are nested among four major microbat lineages, which originated in the early Eocene [52 to 50 million years ago (Mya)], coincident with a significant global rise in temperature, increase in plant diversity and abundance, and the zenith of Tertiary insect diversity. Our data suggest that bats originated in Laurasia, possibly in North America, and that three of the major microbat lineages are Laurasian in origin, whereas the fourth is Gondwanan. Combining principles of ghost lineage analysis with molecular divergence dates, we estimate that the bat fossil record underestimates (unrepresented basal branch length, UBBL) first occurrences by, on average, 73% and that the sum of missing fossil history is 61%.

Volume

307

Issue

5709

First Page

580

Last Page

584

Comments

©2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science

Additional Comments

National Cancer Institute contract #: N01-CO-12400; Darwin Initiative grant #: 162-11-09

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