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Summary The systematic and conservation status of the genus Cynopterus Cuvier, 1824, especially with regard to the status of C. sphinx Vahl, 1797 and C. brachyotis Muller, 1838, is still much in debate. The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive systematic study to resolve the taxonomic ambiguity of the Cynopterus species complex in Sri Lanka. Initially, a study was conducted to review the morphological variation within the species complex using multivariate statistical analysis with three character systems; sixteen measurements of cranial and dental, and 7 external characters were recorded for 364 adult specimens from Sri Lanka. Multivariate analysis using principal component analysis and canonical variate analysis of morphometric data indicated the presence of two different taxa (morphotypes) in Sri Lanka: A small morphotype related to C. brachyotis , a large morphotype related to C. sphinx . Within the morphotypes geographical sub populations were also found whose taxonomic status was ambiguous. To resolve this ambiguity and determine the precise identification of taxa, 23 samples from the morphotypes were examined for the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence divergence in a 425 bp region of the cytochrome b gene. The sequence data revealed the presence of only two major mtDNA phylogenetic groups with a sequence divergence of 9.2 %, indicating that the species complex comprise only two distinct genetic species: The large morphotype which belonged to C. sphinx and the small morphotype which belonged to C. brachyotis . mtDNA sequence data supported the view that the sub populations are eco-morphotypes of C.sphinx. A total of seven mtDNA haplotypes were found in the Cynopterus species complex, five belonging to C. brachyotis and two belonging to C. sphinx . C. brachyotis was found only in the forest habitat. |
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