Evolutionary relationships among the African fruit bats: Rousettus egyptiacus, R. angolensis, and Myonycteris

Abstract

Genetic relationships among Rousettus egyptiacus, R. angolensis, Myonycteris torquata, and M. brachycephala were studied based on a starch-gel electrophoretic analysis of 31 presumptive loci encoding 22 enzymatic systems. Data were analyzed by both phenetic and phylogenetic procedures, considering both allele and loci as characters. All of the analyses (both quantitative and qualitative) showed a high level of concordance in establishing R. (Lissonycteris) angolensis, M. torquata, and M. brachycephala as a monophyletic group. Nevertheless, none of the analyses was clearly able to identify sister groups among these taxa. Based on the evidence generated here and from previous independent datasets, the maintenance of Lissonycteris within the genus Rousettus is not sustainable.