Karyotypic and phylogeographic analyses of Cormura brevirostris (Chiroptera, Emballonuridae)

Cormura brevirostris is a rare and poorly known species of emballonurid bat that occurs in Central America and South America across the Amazonian region. Previous work showed that karyotypes of C. brevirostris from Colombia, Suriname, and the Brazilian Amazon presented 2n = 22 and FN = 40, although small differences in chromosome composition have been observed among these karyotypes. Phylogenetic studies using nuclear and mitochondrial markers also showed differences between Central and South American C. brevirostris individuals. We describe the karyotype of an adult male C. brevirostris from the Brazilian Amazon and compare it to other karyotypes reported for this species. We also investigate phylogenetic relationships within this species using 2 mitochondrial and 1 nuclear gene. Morphological characters and measurements of the Brazilian specimen matched those described for C. brevirostris. The karyotype displayed a C-banding pattern similar to those described for C. brevirostris from other localities. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the monophyly of Cormura, but each marker showed a different relationship. Karyological data showing more than 1 lineage and deep intraspecific mitochondrial lineages suggest that this taxon could be a species complex, requiring additional taxonomic studies to elucidate species limits and phylogenetic relationships within the genus Cormura.