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Issue: Vol. 4320 No. 1: 14 Sept. 2017
Type: Article
Published: 2017-09-14
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4320.1.9
Page range: 159–172
Abstract views: 202
PDF downloaded: 118

A new species of Murina (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from sub-Himalayan forests of northern Myanmar

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand, 90110
Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division, Forest Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Yarzar Htar Ni Road, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division, Forest Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Yarzar Htar Ni Road, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
Department of Zoology, University of Mandalay, Mandalay Region, Myanmar
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History Museum, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand, 90110 Harrison Institute, Bowerwood House, St. Botolph’s Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 3AQ, United Kingdom
Department of Zoology, University of Mandalay, Mandalay Region, Myanmar
Institute of Zoology, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33/I 1180 Vienna, Austria
Mammalia cryptic species Hkakabo Razi Myanmar new species Southeast Asia

Abstract

A new species of Murina of the suilla-type is described from the Hkakabo Razi Landscape, Kachin, Upper Myanmar, an area that is currently being nominated as a World Heritage Site. The new species is a small vespertilionid, with a forearm length of 29.6 mm, and is very similar to M. kontumensis, which was recently described from Vietnam. However, it is distinguishable by a combination of external and craniodental morphology and genetics. The DNA Barcode reveals that the new species clusters sisterly to M. kontumensis but with a genetic distance of 11.5%. A single known specimen of the new species was collected from a lowland forest area in the plains of the Hkakabo Razi landscape, south-eastern Himalaya. Additional information on ecology, echolocation, and conservation are included. The high cryptic diversity of the genus Murina in Southeast Asia, as well as the Hkakabo Razi Landscape being a bat diversity hotspot, is highlighted.

 

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