Karyology of the Bats from the Russian Far East

Abstract

Recent studies based on morphologic and molecular genetic data have revealed quite a seri- ous variety in the trans-Palearctic species, which brought about taxonomic status changes in 14 of 18 Russian Far Eastern bat species. Far Eastern bat status revisions resulted in species growth whose chromosome characteristics have been described either under other names or have not been studied at all. This paper has inventoried bat chromosome research in the Russian Far East and neighboring regions and has improved the accuracy of chromosome characteristics for 17 of 18 valid species today. For the first time, the karyotypes and their variation type for the valid bat species in the Russian Far East have been described.