A new species of the genus Murina (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from the Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

The tube-nosed bats (genus Murina) are small insectivorous mammals that are primarily distributed in South, East, and Southeast Asia. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has long been an understudied region in bat surveys, especially for species of small arboreal bats, including Murina. In 2023, we surveyed the southeastern QTP and collected seven individual specimens of Murina.

The specimens were identified using combined morphological and molecular data (the mitochondrial Cyt b gene). Phylogenetic analyses identified three unknown clades: Murina sp 1, Murina sp 2, and Murina sp 3. Murina sp 1 was most closely related to M. pluvialis, with a genetic distance of 0.09.

Murina sp 2 was most closely related to M. shuipuensis, with a genetic distance of 0.13, and Murina sp 3 was most closely related to M. chrysochaetes, with a genetic distance of 0.15. All three species delimitation methods supported the partitioning of Murina sp 1, Murina sp 2, and Murina sp 3. Herein, we describe a new species, Murina chayuensis sp. nov.

(Murina sp 1.), that is similar to M. annamitica and M. lorelieae. Owing to the limited number of specimens, Murina sp 2 and Murina sp 3 are not described in this study. Our results highlight the overlooked diversity of bats in the southeastern QTP, and thus this group warrants further surveys and taxonomic studies.