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<p>Factors driving morphological differences in widely distributed taxa continue to intrigue evolutionary biologists. Here, we examined the cranial morphological variation in bats of the Neotropical genus <i>Vampyrodes</i> (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) and its relationship to environmental factors across their distribution. By analyzing the cranial size and shape of 317 museum specimens using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics, we found significant differences in both cranial dimensions between the species, with <i>V. caraccioli</i> consistently exhibiting smaller cranial metrics than <i>V. major</i>, confirming its status as an independent species. We documented sexual dimorphism in <i>V. major</i> that was not present in <i>V. caraccioli</i>. Partial Least Squares analyses revealed that temperature and precipitation seasonality are the primary drivers of morphological divergence between these species, showing the strongest correlation with both cranial shape (r-PLS = 0.61) and size (r-PLS = 0.50). <i>V. caraccioli</i> inhabits environments with lower annual temperature variability and higher vegetation cover (NDVI), whereas <i>V. major</i> occupies regions with greater temperature seasonality across its distribution. Niche overlap analyses confirmed that these environmental differences translate into statistically divergent ecological niches (Schoener’s D = 0.072, <i>p</i> = 0.001), indicating significant ecological differentiation between species. These results suggest that coupled ecological and morphological divergence has occurred following allopatric separation, potentially linked to the Andean uplift, with climatic seasonality associated with both phenotypic and niche differentiation. Together, our findings highlight how environmental heterogeneity across the Neotropics has promoted coupled ecological and phenotypic differentiation in bats.</p>

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Temperature and precipitation seasonality drive morphological divergence in the neotropical bat genus Vampyrodes (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月3日

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  • Paúl M. Velazco,
  • Connor Scholl,
  • Riley Johnson,
  • Faith Hoos,
  • Diego A. Esquivel

摘要

Factors driving morphological differences in widely distributed taxa continue to intrigue evolutionary biologists. Here, we examined the cranial morphological variation in bats of the Neotropical genus Vampyrodes (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) and its relationship to environmental factors across their distribution. By analyzing the cranial size and shape of 317 museum specimens using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics, we found significant differences in both cranial dimensions between the species, with V. caraccioli consistently exhibiting smaller cranial metrics than V. major, confirming its status as an independent species. We documented sexual dimorphism in V. major that was not present in V. caraccioli. Partial Least Squares analyses revealed that temperature and precipitation seasonality are the primary drivers of morphological divergence between these species, showing the strongest correlation with both cranial shape (r-PLS = 0.61) and size (r-PLS = 0.50). V. caraccioli inhabits environments with lower annual temperature variability and higher vegetation cover (NDVI), whereas V. major occupies regions with greater temperature seasonality across its distribution. Niche overlap analyses confirmed that these environmental differences translate into statistically divergent ecological niches (Schoener’s D = 0.072, p = 0.001), indicating significant ecological differentiation between species. These results suggest that coupled ecological and morphological divergence has occurred following allopatric separation, potentially linked to the Andean uplift, with climatic seasonality associated with both phenotypic and niche differentiation. Together, our findings highlight how environmental heterogeneity across the Neotropics has promoted coupled ecological and phenotypic differentiation in bats.