title: Description of a new bat species of the tribe Scotonycterini (Chiroptera, Pteropodidae) from Southwestern Cameroon.
abstract: The tribe Scotonycterini is currently composed of three fruit bat species of the family Pteropodidae (Mammalia, Chiroptera) characterized by white fur patches on the head, specifically around the nose and behind the eyes: Scotonycteris zenkeri, S. ophiodon and Casinycteris argynnis. Herein a new species is described, Casinycteris campomaanensis sp. nov., based on female specimen collected in 2007 near the village Nkoélon-Mvini close to the Campo-Ma'an National Park, southwestern Cameroon. It is readily distinguished from the three other species of Scotonycterini by its body size and craniodental characteristics. Molecular analyses based on the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene indicate that the new species is the sister-group to C. argynnis and that the holotype of S. ophiodon is more closely related to Casinycteris than to S. zenkeri, rendering the genus Scotonycteris paraphyletic. Based on these results, morphological characters within the tribe Scotonycterini were reassessed and a new classification is proposed, in which the new species and S. ophiodon are placed in the genus Casinycteris.
authors.affiliation: Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), UMR 7205 CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, case postale n(o) 51, 55, rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France; Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), UMS 2700 - Outils et méthodes de la systématique intégrative, case postale n° 26, 57, rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France. Electronic address: hassanin@mnhn.fr.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hassanin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002163:Cameroon; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D003625:Data Collection; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013045:Species Specificity; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology
keywords: Cameroon; Cameroun; Casinycteris campomaanensis sp. nov.; Chauve-souris frugivore; Fruit bat; Scotonycteris ophiodon; Taxonomie; Taxonomy