A new species of Micronycteris (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) from Bolivia

Although significant work has been done to define species relationships within the Neotropical genus Micronycteris, the group has yet to be fully resolved. In Bolivia Micronycteris is represented by 4 species: M. hirsuta, M. megalotis, M. minuta, and M. sanborni. Through examination of morphological characters and analyses of cranial measurements and genetic data, we determine that M. sanborni is not found in Bolivia and describe a new species closely related to it. The new species is morphometrically distinct from its congeners, forming a cluster separate from M. schmidtorum, M. minuta, and M. brosseti along principal component (PC) 1 (explaining 57.3% of the variation and correlated with maxillary toothrow length) and also separate from M. sanborni along PC 2 (explaining 35.4% of the variation and correlated with condylobasal length). The new species forms a statistically supported clade in all phylogenetic analyses; however, a sister relationship to M. sanborni is not supported. Genetic distance values that separate Micronycteris sp. nov. from its closest relatives range from 5.3% (versus M. sanborni) to 10.4% (versus M. minuta from Guyana). We diagnose and describe the new species in detail and name it in honor of the late Terry Lamon Yates for his contributions to Bolivian mammalogy. Micronycteris sp. nov. is Bolivia's 1st endemic bat species and because of its importance, the conservation implications are discussed.