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Crampton, DA, Giacomini, G and Meloro, C (2024) Mandibular morphology in four species of insectivorous bats: the impact of sexual dimorphism and geographical differentiation. Journal of Zoology. ISSN 0952-8369
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Journal of Zoology - 2024 - Crampton - Mandibular morphology in four species of insectivorous bats the impact of sexual.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (941kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Chiroptera is the only mammalian order that has adapted to active flight, offering a unique platform to study ecomorphological adaptations. While bats exhibit a diverse diet, the focus of this study is on insectivorous bats, specifically four species: Myotis daubentonii, Nyctalus noctula, Plecotus austriacus and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum. It is important to note that despite sharing an insectivorous diet, these species occupy different ecological niches, perform distinct feeding strategies and explore varied habitats to capture prey. Using 2-D geometric morphometrics, we analysed a sample of mandibles to identify differences in size and shape among these species. We also investigated ecogeographical variation within their overlapping distribution across continental Europe. Significant differences in both mandibular size and shape were found among the four species. Sexual dimorphism influenced only the mandibular shape of R. ferrumequinum. A latitudinal gradient in mandibular size was found solely in N. noctula, while longitude significantly explained shape variation in M. daubentonii. These findings suggest that even within the ecological guild of insectivorous bats, there exists a diverse range of morphological adaptations that allow these species to occupy distinct ecological niches.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 05 Environmental Sciences; 06 Biological Sciences; Zoology |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology Q Science > QL Zoology |
| Divisions: | Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19) |
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| SWORD Depositor: | A Symplectic |
| Date Deposited: | 20 May 2024 14:39 |
| Last Modified: | 20 May 2024 14:39 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1111/jzo.13177 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/23307 |
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