Higher-level Phylogeny of Chiroptera: Evidence from the Postcranial Musculoskeletal System of Recent and Fossil Bats

几乎四分之一的现存哺乳动物是蝙蝠——翼目的成员。蝙蝠扮演着各种重要的生态角色。许多蝙蝠以夜间活动的昆虫为食，而其他蝙蝠则对开花植物的授粉至关重要。人类对蝙蝠种群和物种的影响越来越大，对农业和虫害管理产生了严重影响。尽管以前有许多研究，但生物学家对高级蝙蝠类群（例如属和科）之间的关系仍然没有多少共识。如果没有这些知识，就很难解释不同蝙蝠在翅膀结构、声纳能力和生态方面的广泛差异。对蝙蝠多样性的清晰理解——对于确定保护优先级很重要——取决于解决蝙蝠之间的关系（系统发育）。在这项研究中，蝙蝠关系的问题将通过对各种蝙蝠的骨骼（不包括头盖骨）和肌肉的解剖结构的详细分析来解决。最近的蝙蝠将使用干燥的骨骼，肌肉解剖，以及清除和染色的标本进行研究。蝙蝠化石将通过直接观察和x射线分析进行研究。这些研究的目的将是确定可以用来评估关系的解剖结构的异同。本研究收集的数据将用于各种计算机辅助分析，旨在对蝙蝠家族内部和家族之间的关系产生可测试的假设。蝙蝠与其他哺乳动物群体（如灵长类动物）的关系也将被调查。结合分子研究数据和先前对其他解剖系统的调查，本研究将为理解蝙蝠的结构设计、行为和生态提供一个新的框架。

Almost one-quarter of living mammal species are bats -- members of the order Chiroptera. Bats play a variety of important ecological roles. Many bat species prey on nocturnal insects, while others are essential to the pollination of flowering plants. Increasing human impact on bat populations and species has serious implications for agriculture and insect pest management. Despite many previous studies, there is still little agreement among biologists concerning relationships among higher-level bat groups (e.g., genera and families). Without such knowledge, it is difficult to interpret the wide ranges of variation in wing architecture, sonar capabilities, and ecology seen in different bats. A clear understanding of bat diversity -- important for setting conservation priorities -- depends upon resolving the relationships (phylogeny) of bats. In this study, the problem of bat relationships will be addressed through a detailed analysis of the anatomy of the skeleton (excluding the cranium) and the muscles of a wide variety of bats. Recent bats will be studied using dried skeletons, muscle dissections, and cleared and stained specimens. Fossil bats will be studied by direct observation and x-ray analysis. The object of these studies will be to identify similarities and differences in anatomical structure that can be used to evaluate relationships. Data collected in this study will be employed in a variety of computer-assisted analyses designed to produce testable hypotheses of relationships within and among families of bats. The relationships of bats to other mammalian groups (such as Primates) will also be investigated. In conjunction with data from molecular studies and previous surveys of other anatomical systems, this study should provide a new framework for understanding the structural design, behavior, and ecology of bats.