A new species of Myotis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from the coastal desert of southern Peru

Abstract Bats of the widely distributed genus Myotis have been examined in order to address processes of diversification, speciation, and historical biogeography on a global scale. The taxonomy of the genus, however, is notoriously intractable due to limited morphological variation that does not adequately capture the extent of species diversity, and recent molecular studies over the past decade on Neotropical Myotis have unveiled substantial cryptic diversity. In Peru, 9 species of Myotis have been documented, with the majority inhabiting the Amazonian region. This study employs an integrative methodology incorporating qualitative morphological assessment, linear morphometrics, and molecular phylogenetics to describe a novel Myotis species from the coastal desert of southern Peru. Although it bears morphological similarities to M. oxyotus sensu stricto, this new species exhibits a 12% genetic divergence at the mitochondrial cytochrome b locus from M. oxyotus. Additionally, it differs from South and Central American counterparts by having a long forearm (longest documented among Neotropical myotine bats) and a notably large skull with a broad, elevated, and globular braincase. Recognition of this new species elevates the diversity of Myotis in Peru to 10 species, thereby increasing the total number of known bat species in the country to 190.