Phylogeny, Biogeography, and Classification of Frugivorous Bats in the Subtribe Vampyressina (Phyllostomidae: Stenodermatinae), with Descriptions of New Subgenera

Fruit-eating bats of the stenodermatine phyllostomid subtribe Vampyressina are small to medium-sized Neotropical species with highly modified cranial and dental morphologies across the seven genera currently recognized. To date, no study has focused on the biogeography and phenotypic evolution of vampyressines. We conducted phylogenetic analyses of the subtribe Vampyressina integrating sequence data of mitochondrial and nuclear loci (totaling 3118 bp) and 81 morphological characters from 36 of the 42 currently recognized species. Based on a dated phylogenetic tree, we made biogeographical inferences and explored scenarios of phenotypic evolution. Monophyly of Vampyressina was strongly supported, as was its position as the sister group of a clade containing the subtribes Artibeina, Ectophyllina, Enchisthenina, and Stenodermatina. Phylogenetic analysis based on Bayesian inference recovered the following topology, at the genus level: (Uroderma ((Platyrrhinus + Vampyrodes) ((Chiroderma + Vampyriscus) (Mesophylla + Vampyressa)))). The biogeographical patterns retrieved suggest that founder events were key to the radiation and range expansion of vampyressines, followed by anagenetic dispersal and speciation within the same large area. The most recent common ancestor of Vampyressina was most likely distributed in cis-Andean South America, and most of the genera originated in this area. Body-size evolution and several qualitative morphological characters support the three main lineages of Vampyressina, suggesting early segregation in size coupled with dramatic changes in cranial and dental morphology. Both morphological and biogeographical results are consistent with ecological differentiation related to resource partitioning. Based on the morphological and biogeographical data, we propose a revised genus-group taxonomic arrangement for Vampyressina with the recognition of two subgenera for Platyrrhinus, two subgenera for Vampyriscus, and three subgenera for Vampyressa; of these, one new subgenus of Platyrrhinus and two new subgenera of Vampyressa are described in this report.