Hypsugo stubbeisp. nov., a novel cryptic bat species of the genusHypsugo(Vespertilionidae, Chiroptera, Mammalia) from Mongolia. Results of the Mongolian-German Biological Expeditions Since 1962, No. 347.

AbstractThe occurrence of two members of the genusHypsugo, namelyH. alaschanicusandH. savii caucasicus, have been reported for Mongolia in the literature. Due to various taxonomic reassignments within and between genera, the number of records for the genusHypsugoin Mongolia is quite scarce and sometimes not resolved at species or subspecies level. Despite recognition of the two above-mentioned species, recent reports based on genetic analyses describe only new and further records ofH. alaschanicus. Thus, it exists a large uncertainty regarding the occurrence and distribution ofH. savii caucasicusin Mongolia. Here, our efforts in gaining a deeper understanding towards the occurrence and distribution ofHypsugospecies in Mongolia are described.A combination of genetic and morphological analyses of collected material fromHypsugospecimens revealed the existence of a genetically largely distantHypsugoclade. Therefore, a new and crypticHypsugospecies is proposed which is named after Prof. Dr. Michael Stubbe for his continuous, long-standing and significant contributions into the biological exploration of Mongolia.Hypsugo stubbeisp. nov. differs by at least 8.4 % and 9 % to the closest Western Palearctic distributedH. cf.darwiniiandH. saviias well as at least 11.3 % to the Easter Palearctic (including Mongolia) distributedH. alaschanicusbased on the first 798 nucleotides of the gene encoding the mitochondrial ND1 (subunit one of NADH dehydrogenase). Neither a close proximity species based on the gene encoding the mitochondrial COI (cytochrome oxidase subunit one) could be found in publicly accessible nucleotide databases. While the crypticH. stubbeisp. nov. reveals no obvious cranial and morphological differences, few external characteristics are dissimilar to bothH. alaschanicusandH. savii(caucasicus). Currently,Hypsugo stubbeisp. nov. was found at four different locations in Mongolia. Among the 11 specimens captured, six facilitated a genetic assignment. Based on the current scarce data records, the species seems to occur mainly in the far west of Mongolia inhabiting semi-deserts and steppes up to high mountain areas. An overlapping distribution withH. alaschanicuscannot be excluded based on the limited data currently available.