Phylogeography and population genetics of Macronycteris commersonii s.s. (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae), an endemic Malagasy bat

Macronycteris commersonii (Hipposideridae), a bat species endemic to Madagascar, is widespread across the island, utilising open woodland, degraded habitats, and forested areas from sea level to 1325 m. We investigated the fine-scale phylogeographic history and relationships of populations occurring in the western half of the island using sequence data from two mitochondrial DNA regions and extensive geographical sampling. Our results indicated a highly supported monophyletic group of M. commersonii, in which the Northern Madagascar Clade C formed a single monophyletic clade. The most recent common ancestor of M. commersonii was dated to 0.82 million years ago (mid-Pleistocene). Population expansion events were inferred for Clade B from approximately 130,000 to 70,000 years BP. Bayesian clustering and AMOVA analyses inferred week population genetic structure and sequence data indicated that genetic subdivisions do not support an isolation-by-distance model. Lineage dispersal, genetic divergence, and expansion events of M. commersonii were likely to be associated with Pleistocene climate fluctuations. Our data suggested that the northern and the central western regions of Madagascar may have acted as refugia for this species during periods of cooler and drier climate conditions associated with the Pleistocene.