PHYLLOSTOMID BATS
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Fragments and Gaps: The Fossil Record

6/12/2020

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Nancy B. Simmons, Gregg F. Gunnell, and Nicolas J. Czaplewski

Phyllostomids arguably are the most ecologically diverse family of extant mammals, and the pattern, tempo, and mode of their evolution is of great interest to biologists. While modern molecular phylogenetic studies can provide a framework for understanding relationships of phyllostomids to one another and their close relatives, it is only the fossil record that can provide calibration points for reconstructing the temporal pattern of diversification. Additionally, the fossil record can facilitate synthetic understanding of patterns of morphological change over time. The fossil record of Phyllostomidae definitely extends to the early Miocene (~ 21-19 Ma) of Panama, and may extend as far back as the late middle Eocene (~41 Ma) of Peru, but it is surprisingly incomplete before the Pleistocene. Crown group members of the extant subfamilies Phyllostominae and Lonchophyllinae are known from Miocene localities in the Neotropics.  Most Miocene phyllostomids exhibit dental morphology and body sizes suggesting that they were insectivores, but some may have been at least partially carnivorous or omnivorous, indicating that ecological diversification in the family was well underway in the Miocene.  Large numbers of phyllostomid fossils are known from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, but no Late Miocene or Pliocene fossil phyllostomids are known, hence there is a ~10 million year gap in the fossil record.  There are relatively few documented extinctions in the group, but those that are known disproportionally seem to have affected Antillean taxa and vampire bats (Desmodontinae). It is not yet clear if these represent real patterns or are a result of paucity of the fossil record for Phyllostomidae.
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    Keywords

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    Adaptation
    Adaptive Radiation
    Aerodynamics
    Agribusiness
    Andes
    Animalivorous
    Basal Metabolic Rate
    Bat Conservation
    Bat Ecology
    Bat Pollination
    Behavioral Ecology
    Biodiversity
    BioGeoBEARS
    Biogeography
    Biological Diversity
    Biomechanics
    Body Size
    Brain Evolution
    Brazil
    Canines
    Cave Protection
    Chiropterophily
    Classification
    Climatic Changes
    Coevolution
    Community Ecology
    Community Structure
    Conservation
    Continuous Character Optimization
    Cooperation
    Desmodus
    Diaemus
    Diet
    Dietary Shifts
    Dietary Specialization
    Diet Selection
    Digestive Physiology
    Diphylla
    Dispersal
    Diversification
    Diversity Gradients
    Drift
    Echolocation
    Ecological Networks
    Ecological Niche Modeling
    Ecological Theory Of Adaptive Radiation
    Education
    Elastin
    Emerging Diseases
    Emerging Threats
    Evolutionary Mechanisms
    Excretory Physiology
    Extrinsic Threats
    Female Choice
    Flight
    Foraging Ecology
    Foraging Strategy
    Forest Loss
    Fossils
    Frugivory
    Generalist
    Geological Changes
    Gleaning Insectivory
    Gondwana
    Great American Interchange
    Habitat Loss
    Interaction Networks
    Intestinal Enzymes
    Kidney Structure
    Life History Theory
    Lonchorhina
    Longevity
    Male Competition
    Metabolic Physiology
    Micronycterinae
    Monestrus
    Morphology
    Movement Ecology
    Musculoskeletal
    Nectarivory
    Neotropics
    Network Science
    Neuroanatomy
    New World
    Noctilionoidea
    Ornstein-Uhlenbeck Models
    Oxidative Metabolism
    Past Character Displacement
    Phyletic Trends
    Phyllostomidae
    Phyllostominae
    Phylogenetic Constraints
    Phylogeny
    Polyestrus
    Predator
    Roost Disturbance
    Roosting Behavior
    Roosts
    Sanguinivory
    Sensory
    Sensory Systems
    Sexual Selection
    Size At Birth
    Skin
    Specialization
    Speciation
    Species Description
    Species Interactions
    Sperm Competition
    Taxonomic Discovery
    Trophic Level
    Wing Morphology
    Wings

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