While Western and Eastern Palearctic regions are well studied regarding the diversity and distribution of bat species, little is known about their occurrence and morphological traits in Central Asia. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted fieldwork in Turkmenistan, covering desert areas east of the Caspian Sea. For the first time, we recorded Nathusius’ pipistrelle, Pipistrellus nathusii, in Central Asia. We captured the male bat on 3 October 2025, at the shore of Lake Uzynshor in the Karakum Desert. The morphological features of the bat allowed for unequivocal identification. The date of capture falls during the species’ autumn migration period. The specimen might either be a vagrant or could be the first indication of an unknown and possibly new migration route east of the Caspian Sea.

Understanding spatial patterns in small, elusive species is critical for behavioral ecology and conservation, yet traditional tracking methods often face logistical constraints. We evaluated the utility of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based proximity biologging system as an automated tool for determining the activity patterns and utilization distributions (UDs) of small, free-ranging animals. We monitored female Bechstein's bats (Myotis bechsteinii) using a grid of 65 logging stations over two breeding seasons. Individual UDs were estimated using proximity data via autocorrelated kernel density estimation. We analyzed kinship-driven space-sharing and site fidelity through spatial overlap metrics. To validate system accuracy, we conducted a human-mediated field simulation for comparing proximity against GPS-derived UDs. Female bats exhibited individualized home ranges; however, mother-daughter pairs showed significantly higher overlap than non-related pairs. Repeatedly tagged individuals showed site fidelity. These results converge with previous patterns reported using VHF data. Field simulations demonstrated 88% (95% AKDE-home range) and 78% (50% AKDE-core area) of spatial congruence between proximity-based and GPS-derived UDs, confirming high locational accuracy within the detection grid. While the grid-based approach limits UD estimations to the monitored area, the IoT proximity system provides a reliable and automated alternative for studying fine-scale activity patterns. Our findings highlight the potential for this technology to identify activity hotspots and spatial dynamics in conservation-priority habitats of species with relatively small home ranges and high site fidelity, such as the Bechstein's bat.

Museum collections harbor millions of samples, largely unutilized for long-read sequencing. Here, we use ethanol-preserved samples containing kilobase-sized DNA to show that amplification-free protocols can yield contiguous genome assemblies. Additionally, using a modified amplification-based protocol, employing an alternative polymerase to overcome PCR bias, we assemble the 3.1 Gb maned sloth genome, surpassing the previous 500 Mb protocol size limit. Our protocol also improves assemblies of other difficult-to-sequence molluscs and arthropods, including millimeter-sized organisms. By highlighting collections as valuable sample resources and facilitating genome assembly of tiny and challenging organisms, our study advances efforts to obtain reference genomes of all eukaryotes.

Aim: More species-rich communities are often assumed to contain more specialist species with narrower niches and smaller ranges. Stronger interspecific competition in species-rich communities is thought to be a key mechanism explaining these patterns. Yet, the relationship between richness and specialisation has so far only been studied for a few taxa, and characterising the effects of interspecific competition on species distributions is challenging. Here, we assess broad-scale relationships between niche breadth, range sizes and geographic exclusion along richness gradients of bats. Location: Eastern Mediterranean, Western Asia, and Central Asia. Taxon: Bats (Chiroptera). Methods: Based on a novel integrated species distribution modelling approach that combines occurrence information with expert range maps, we assessed how environmental niche breadth and range sizes varied with species richness. In addition, by contrasting species' potential and realised distributions in areas where species pairs overlap, we derived indicators of geographic exclusion to understand how potential interspecific competition is affecting range limits along richness gradients. Results and Main Conclusions: We found a nonlinear association between environmental niche breadth and richness, with the most specialised species occurring in species-poor regions and niche breadth peaking at intermediate richness. Despite a positive association of niche breadth and range sizes at the species level, range sizes in predicted bat communities declined continuously with species richness. In addition, patterns of geographic exclusion were linked to patterns of niche breadth, with species filling less of their potential range overlaps when overlapping species were more specialised. Our findings suggest that small range sizes in species-rich bat communities are better explained by the number of interacting species than by environmental specialisation or stronger exclusion between individual species. More broadly, we show how integrated distribution modelling approaches can shed new light on the interplay of species richness, specialisation and community structure, and caution against generalising relationships between richness and specialisation across taxa and geographies.

ABSTRACTAimSpecies distribution models (SDMs) are powerful tools for assessing suitable habitats across large areas and at fine spatial resolution. Yet, the usefulness of SDMs for mapping species' realised distributions is often limited since data biases or missing information on dispersal barriers or biotic interactions hinder them from accurately delineating species' range limits. One way to overcome this limitation is to integrate SDMs with expert range maps, which provide coarse‐scale information on the extent of species' ranges and thereby range limits that are complementary to information offered by SDMs.InnovationHere, we propose a new approach for integrating expert range maps in SDMs based on an ensemble method called stacked generalisation. Specifically, our approach relies on training a meta‐learner regression model using predictions from one or more SDM algorithms alongside the distance of training points to expert‐defined ranges as predictor variables. We demonstrate our approach with an occurrence dataset for 49 bat species covering four biodiversity hotspots in the Eastern Mediterranean, Western Asia and Central Asia.Main ConclusionsOur approach offers a flexible method to integrate expert range maps with any combination of SDM modelling algorithms, thus facilitating the use of algorithm ensembles. In addition, it provides a novel, data‐driven way to account for uncertainty in expert‐defined ranges not requiring prior knowledge about their accuracy, which is often lacking. Integrating expert range maps into SDMs for bats resulted in more realistic predictions of distribution patterns that showed narrower niche breadths and smaller range overlaps between species compared to traditional SDMs. Our approach holds promise to improve assessments of species distributions, while our work highlights the overlooked potential of stacked generalisation as an ensemble method in species distribution modelling.

Studying hybrid zones that form between morphologically cryptic taxa offers valuable insights into the mechanisms of cryptic speciation and the evolution of reproductive barriers. Although hybrid zones have long been the focus of evolutionary studies, the awareness of cryptic hybrid zones increased recently due to rapidly growing evidence of biological diversity lacking obvious phenotypic differentiation. The characterization of cryptic hybrid zones with genome-wide analysis is in its early stages and offers new perspectives for studying population admixture and thus the impact of gene flow. In this study, we investigate the population genomics of the Myotis nattereri complex in one of its secondary contact zones, where a putative hybrid zone is formed between two of its cryptic lineages. By utilizing a whole-genome shotgun sequencing approach, we aim to characterize this cryptic hybrid zone in detail. Demographic analysis suggests that the cryptic lineages diverged during the Pliocene, c. 3.6 million years ago. Despite this ancient separation, the populations in the contact zone exhibit mitochondrial introgression and a considerable amount of mixing in nuclear genomes. The genomic structure of the populations corresponds to geographic locations and the genomic admixture changes along a geographic gradient. These findings suggest that there is no effective hybridization barrier between both lineages, nevertheless, their population structure is shaped by dispersal barriers. Our findings highlight how such deeply diverged cryptic lineages can still readily hybridize in secondary contact.

Background Biodiversity surveys are essential for both academic research and conservation. Integrative approaches that combine morphological, genetic and acoustic aspects for species identification can provide reliable information in taxonomy and evolution. This is especially relevant for those groups with a high degree of cryptic diversity such as bats. New information Here, we present the results from a field survey carried out in the Cuc Phuong National Park (CPNP) during 2019 as part of the VIETBIO project and from the examination of specimen collections preserved at the museums of CPNP and the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR). In addition, we include an annotated species list, based on this survey and a literature review. We here confirm that CPNP is home to at least 47 bat species belonging to 23 genera and seven families. We recorded ten of these bat species during our field survey. Obtained data in genetics (sequencing a fragment of the mitochondrial gene COI) supported the morphological identification of the recorded species for which we were able to produce these data. In addition, we include echolocation recordings obtained during our field training with the hope that they may contribute valuable insights to future work concerning the surveyed species. Results from the field survey represent a relevant contribution to biodiversity assessment efforts and, thus, support conservation and management efforts to maintain bat diversity in Vietnam.

Today’s biodiversity was strongly impacted by glacial cycles during the Pleistocene. They generated species diversity and population structuring, which can easily remain undetected, if populations differentiation is not accompanied by divergence in external morphological traits. This phenomenon, described as cryptic diversity, has been intensively researched in bats, which are known to harbour cryptic phylogenetic lineages. Many studies however have a regional focus or suffer from geographical gaps. Widely understudied areas include Central and Western Asia, although they connect the western and eastern Palearctic fauna. These areas are characterized by topographic heterogeneity and therefore high ecosystem diversity. In this study we investigated the phylogeography of the Savii’s pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii), a bat species assumed to be widely distributed across the Palaearctic. We compiled published sequences from four mitochondrial genes (ND1, CytB, COI and 16 S), added new sequences especially from the Asian part of the distribution range and performed phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses. They indicate that H. savii is a taxonomic unit with extensive cryptic diversity, comprising at least four major mitochondrial lineages with allopatric or parapatric distribution ranges. Divergence time dating reveals the impact of Pleistocene glaciations on shaping highly structured populations of a highly mobile mammal across the Palearctic. Our study also revealed several zones of secondary contact among populations where hybridization and gene flow likely occur. This study highlights the necessity for studying biodiversity in Western and Central Asia in order to understand biogeographic patterns, evolutionary processes and conservation needs in the area that connects eastern and western Palearctic faunas.

Abstract Increasing urbanisation and intensified agriculture lead to rapid transitions of ecosystems. Species that persist throughout rapid transitions may respond to environmental changes across space and/or time, for instance by altering morphological and/or biochemical traits. We used natural history museum specimens, covering the Anthropocene epoch, to obtain long‐term data combined with recent samples. We tested whether rural and urban populations of two ground beetle species, Harpalus affinis and H. rufipes, exhibit spatio‐temporal intraspecific differences in body size. On a spatial scale, we tested signatures of nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes enrichments in different tissues and body components in recent populations of both species from urban and agricultural habitats. For body size examinations, we used beetles, collected from the early 20th century until 2017 in the Berlin‐Brandenburg region, Germany, where urbanisation and agriculture have intensified throughout the last century. For stable isotope examinations, we used recent beetles from urban and agricultural habitats. Our results revealed no spatio‐temporal changes in body size in both species' females. Body size of H. rufipes males decreased in the city but remained constant in rural areas over time. We discuss our findings with respect to habitat quality, urban heat and interspecific differences in activity pattern. Although nitrogen isotope ratios were mostly higher in specimens from agricultural habitats, some urban beetles reached equal enrichments. Carbon signatures of both species did not differ between habitats, detecting no differences in energy sources. Our results indicate that increasing urbanisation and intensified agriculture are influencing species' morphology and/or biochemistry. However, changes may be species‐ and sex‐specific.

Phylogenetic relationships and species delimitation in African Vespertilionini have been a long-standing subject of debate and are still controversial, although recent molecular analyses have shed light onto some of these issues. In this study we employed a comparative cytogenetics approach for the delineation of chromosomal homology and for the detection of shared chromosomal characters, which were then used to support proposed phylogenetic relationships. Here, we present karyotype analyses of five African Vespertilionini, Laephotis kirinyaga (2n = 32), Neoromicia guineensis (2n = 26), Pseudoromicia brunnea (2n = 36), Nycticeinops happoldorum (2n = 24), and Nycticeinops schlieffenii (2n = 34), which were complemented by mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis for species classification of all our specimens. Our cytogenetic analyses revealed that three derived Robertsonian fusion chromosomes, 7/11, 8/9, and 10/12, characterize the karyotypes of four African Vespertilionini genera, i.e. Laephotis, Neoromicia, Afronycteris, and Pseudoromicia, for which we propose to constitute a new subtribe, Laephotina. A rare chromosomal rearrangement, an X-autosome translocation, was found in the studied N. guineensis female. The genus Nycticeinops is characterized by a high intrageneric karyotype diversity. In only two of all four analyzed species, i.e. N. happoldorum and N. crassulus, a common chromosomal feature, the fusion product 1/13 was detected. Further, for the recently described East African serotine, L. kirinyaga, we present the second record for West Africa. The cytochrome b sequence of our N. guineensis specimen from Ivory Coast showed 4% divergence to that of its closest relative, N. somalica from Kenya.

Various bat species are expanding their ranges due to changes in climate and landscape. These range expansions should be monitored thoroughly because they may alter local bat communities. The steppe whiskered bat Myotis davidii, for instance, has probably expanded its range from Central Asia to Eastern Europe. However, monitoring the range expansion of M. davidii is challenging because M. davidii and its sister species M. mystacinus are morphologically similar. Here, we investigated whether M. davidii occurs in Austria, which would extend its known range to the North-West. To facilitate the morphological identification of M. davidii and enable efficient monitoring approaches, we propose a morphometric approach. We analysed morphometric data of 102 M. mystacinus and 78 M. davidii. We applied sex-specific linear discriminant analyses to investigate whether a combination of hindfoot length, tibia length and forearm length could be used to distinguish M. davidii from M. mystacinus. The discriminant functions correctly identified 88 % of females and 82 % of males of the genetically verified individuals. Combined with dental characteristics, bat workers can reliably identify M. davidii based on morphometric traits. To investigate whether M. davidii had been previously found in Austria, we applied the discriminant functions to data of 61 Austrian M. mystacinus specimens preserved in the Natural History Museum Vienna. Since we did not find M. davidii specimens in the museum's collection - the most comprehensive of Austrian mammal collection - we presume that M. davidii is a relatively new element of the Austrian fauna. This indicates that M. davidii has expanded its range over the last decades. The discriminant functions will facilitate monitoring of this potential range expansion.

Since the 19th century, the addax (Addax nasomaculatus) has lost approximately 99% of its former range. Along with its close relatives, the blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus) and the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), the addax may be the third large African mammal species to go extinct in the wild in recent times. Despite this, the evolutionary history of this critically endangered species remains virtually unknown. To gain insight into the population history of the addax, we used hybridization capture to generate ten complete mitochondrial genomes from historical samples and assembled a nuclear genome. We found that both mitochondrial and nuclear diversity are low compared to other African bovids. Analysis of mitochondrial genomes revealed a most recent common ancestor ~32 kya (95% CI 11–58 kya) and weak phylogeographic structure, indicating that the addax likely existed as a highly mobile, panmictic population across its Sahelo–Saharan range in the past. PSMC analysis revealed a continuous decline in effective population size since ~2 Ma, with short intermediate increases at ~500 and ~44 kya. Our results suggest that the addax went through a major bottleneck in the Late Pleistocene, remaining at low population size prior to the human disturbances of the last few centuries.

Leopards are the only big cats still widely distributed across the continents of Africa and Asia. They occur in a wide range of habitats and are often found in close proximity to humans. But despite their ubiquity, leopard phylogeography and population history have not yet been studied with genomic tools. Here, we present population-genomic data from 26 modern and historical samples encompassing the vast geographical distribution of this species. We find that Asian leopards are broadly monophyletic with respect to African leopards across almost their entire nuclear genomes. This profound genetic pattern persists despite the animals' high potential mobility, and despite evidence of transfer of African alleles into Middle Eastern and Central Asian leopard populations within the last 100,000 years. Our results further suggest that Asian leopards originated from a single out-of-Africa dispersal event 500-600 thousand years ago and are characterized by higher population structuring, stronger isolation by distance, and lower heterozygosity than African leopards. Taxonomic categories do not take into account the variability in depth of divergence among subspecies. The deep divergence between the African subspecies and Asian populations contrasts with the much shallower divergence among putative Asian subspecies. Reconciling genomic variation and taxonomy is likely to be a growing challenge in the genomics era.

Exceptionally long-lived species, including many bats, rarely show overt signs of aging, making it difficult to determine why species differ in lifespan. Here, we use DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles from 712 known-age bats, representing 26 species, to identify epigenetic changes associated with age and longevity. We demonstrate that DNAm accurately predicts chronological age. Across species, longevity is negatively associated with the rate of DNAm change at age-associated sites. Furthermore, analysis of several bat genomes reveals that hypermethylated age- and longevity-associated sites are disproportionately located in promoter regions of key transcription factors (TF) and enriched for histone and chromatin features associated with transcriptional regulation. Predicted TF binding site motifs and enrichment analyses indicate that age-related methylation change is influenced by developmental processes, while longevity-related DNAm change is associated with innate immunity or tumorigenesis genes, suggesting that bat longevity results from augmented immune response and cancer suppression. ### Competing Interest Statement SH is a founder of the non-profit Epigenetic Clock Development Foundation which plans to license several patents from his employer UC Regents. These patents list SH as inventor. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Exceptionally long-lived species, including many bats, rarely show overt signs of aging, making it difficult to determine why species differ in lifespan. Here, we use DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles from 712 known-age bats, representing 26 species, to identify epigenetic changes associated with age and longevity. We demonstrate that DNAm accurately predicts chronological age. Across species, longevity is negatively associated with the rate of DNAm change at age-associated sites. Furthermore, analysis of several bat genomes reveals that hypermethylated age- and longevity-associated sites are disproportionately located in promoter regions of key transcription factors (TF) and enriched for histone and chromatin features associated with transcriptional regulation. Predicted TF binding site motifs and enrichment analyses indicate that age-related methylation change is influenced by developmental processes, while longevity-related DNAm change is associated with innate immunity or tumorigenesis genes, suggesting that bat longevity results from augmented immune response and cancer suppression.

Secondary contacts can play a major role in the evolutionary histories of species. Various taxa diverge in allopatry and later on come into secondary contact during range expansions. When they meet, their interactions and the extent of gene flow depend on the level of their ecological differentiation and the strength of their reproductive isolation. In this study, we present the multilocus phylogeography of two cryptic whiskered bat species, Myotis mystacinus and M. davidii, with a particular focus on their putative sympatric zone. Our findings suggest that M. mystacinus and M. davidii evolved in allopatry and came into secondary contact during range expansions. Individuals in the area of secondary contact, in Anatolia and the Balkans, have discordant population assignments based on the mitochondrial and the nuclear datasets. These observed patterns suggest that the local M. mystacinus populations hybridized with expanding M. davidii populations, which resulted in mitochondrial introgression from the former. In the introgression area, M. mystacinus individuals with concordant nuclear and mitochondrial genotypes were identified in relatively few locations, suggesting that the indigenous populations might have been largely replaced by invading M. davidii. Changing environmental conditions coupled with ecological competition is the likely reason for this replacement. Our study presents one possible example of a historical population replacement that was captured in phylogeographic patterns.