Study suggests some 40% of horseshoe bats in the region have yet to be formally described.
Hughes wanted to better understand the diversity of bats in southeast Asia and find standardized ways of identifying them. So she and her colleagues captured bats in southern China and southeast Asia between 2015 and 2020. They took measurements and photographs of the bats’ wings and noseleaf — “the funky set of tissue around their nose”, as Hughes describes it — and recorded their echolocation calls. They also collected a tiny bit of tissue from the bats’ wings to extract genetic data.
The researchers found that each of the 11 species were probably actually multiple species, possibly including dozens of hidden species across the whole sample. Hidden, or ‘cryptic’, species are animals that seem to belong to the same species but are actually genetically distinct. For example, the genetic diversity ofsuggests that the group could be six separate species. Overall, they estimated that some 40% of the species in Asia have not been formally described.
However, relying on mitochondrial DNA could mean that the number of hidden species is an overestimate. That is because mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother, so could be missing important genetic information, says Simmons. Still, the study could lead to a burst of research into naming new bat species in the region, she says.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
3 killed in pileup of dozens of vehicles in Pennsylvania snow squall, officials sayA portion of Interstate 81 was closed and at least 20 people were transported to local hospitals, according to the Schuylkill County Emergency Management.
Read more »
3 dead in pileup of dozens of vehicles in PennsylvaniaA Pennsylvania county coroner says at least three people died in a collision involving dozens of vehicles on an interstate and more than a dozen people sought treatment at area hospitals
Read more »
Dozens of vehicles collide in massive, fiery pileup on Pennsylvania highwayVideo posted on social media shows several trucks and a number of smaller vehicles were struck and at least one ablaze
Read more »
At Least 3 Dead In Pileup Of Dozens Of Vehicles In Schuylkill County, PennsylvaniaA collision involving dozens of vehicles on Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania killed at least three people and sent more than a dozen others to area hospitals on Monday, authorities said.
Read more »
Dozens of city workers sent to clear homeless encampment under BQEMayor Eric Adams has vowed to clear 150 encampments across the city, but homeless advocates say, without housing, it will do little to alleviate the problem.
Read more »
3 dead in snowy pileup of dozens of vehicles in PennsylvaniaTractor-trailers and other vehicles lost control and slammed into each other, people leapt away from careering trucks seconds before collision and at least three people were killed and more than a dozen others injured during a snow squall on a Pennsylvania highway.
Read more »