Kazakov D.V., Kruskop S.V., Kawai K., Gorban A.A., Gorobeyko U.V.
В журнале Mammal Research
Год: 2025 Том: 70 Страницы: 127-140
The long-tailed myotis, Myotis longicaudatus, is considered one of the rarest bat species in the northeastern Palaearctic. Originally considered a subspecies of M. frater, was elevated to species level in 2015 based on molecular differentiation. Currently, three subspecies are recognized based on morphometric data. This study aimed to identify the geographic patterns of the population genetic structure and morphological variability of Myotis longicaudatus throughout its range, and also to find out whether they are related to environmental parameters. The species distribution modelling based on the subsets of twenty environmental variables for two mainland subspecies of M. longicaudatus predicted that M. l. eniseensis is distributed westward from the Greater Khingan Mountains, and M. l. longicaudatus eastward. Except for Transbaikalia, capture sites were predominantly located in two land cover classes: deciduous broad-leaved and needle-leaved forests. Population genetic analyses based on cyt b sequences identified a split into the Eastern (corresponded to the morphological subspecies M. l. longicaudatus and M. l. kaguyae) and the Western (corresponded to the morphological subspecies M. l. eniseensis) haplogroups. The p-distance between the two main haplogroups was 0.92% and between the mainland and island samples of the Eastern haplogroup 0.47%. Two haplotypes of the Western haplogroup were most widely distributed in Siberia, the E8 haplotype was distributed in Western and Central Siberia, and the E4 haplotype in Eastern Siberia (Baikal Region and Transbaikalia). We recorded M. longicaudatus in Transbaikalia for the first time. Morphometric analyses showed the greatest differences between eastern (M. l. longicaudatus and M. l. kaguyae) and western (M. l. eniseensis) M. longicaudatus. The specimens from Transbaikalia were similar to eastern M. longicaudatus in morphometric parameters. Molecular and morphometric data converge and do not contradict the presence of three subspecies, but overall variability within the species being quite low.
