Three new species of MURINA (chiroptera: vespertilionidae) from Taiwan

Abstract

We report 3 new species of bats of the genus Murina from Taiwan. One is a larger species that closely resembles Murina leucogaster and Murina rubex both externally and cranially. However, this new species differs from either or both of the latter 2 species in the color of the face and the dorsum, the attachment point of the plagiopatagium, the shape of the upper canine, and dimensions of the skull. The other 2 new species are smaller and differ from each other in the dorsal coloration, brightness of the pelage and the face, the shape of the basioccipital pit, the shape of the 1st upper premolar, and dimensions of the skull. These 2 new species can be distinguished from all known species of Murina by either the body size, the pelage coloration, the shape of the ear, or relative sizes and shapes of various teeth in both upper and lower toothrows, or a combination of these characters. © 2009 American Society of Mammalogists.