Caribbean Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae), with description of a new species from Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

We describe a new species of Myotis (Vespertilionidae, Myotinae) from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Tobago Island. The new species (Myotis attenboroughi sp. nov.) can be distinguished from all other Neotropical congeners by cranial features and cytochrome-b gene sequences. Myotis attenboroughi sp. nov. is allied morphologically with species in the albescens group (like M. nigricans), and is sister to a clade including M. cf. handleyi, M. nesopolus, and 3 possibly undescribed species from Central and South America. A review of Myotis collections from the Caribbean confirms M. nyctor for Barbados and Grenada; M. dominicensis for Dominica and Guadeloupe; M. martiniquensis for Martinique; M. pilosatibialis and M. riparius for Trinidad; and M. attenboroughi for Tobago. The occurrence of M. attenboroughi on Trinidad is still an open question.