''Myzopoda'' is a genus of bat, the only member of the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Myzopodidae, with two described

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. Myzopodidae is unique as the only family of

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s currently

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. However, fossil discoveries indicate that the family has an ancient lineage in Africa, extending from the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

as far back as the late

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

. Based on nuclear DNA sequence data, Myzopodidae appears to be basal in the

Gondwana Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...

n superfamily

Noctilionoidea Noctilionoidea is a Taxonomic rank, superfamily of bats containing seven families: Thyropteridae, Furipteridae, Noctilionidae, Mormoopidae, Phyllostomidae, Myzopodidae, and Mystacinidae. It is one of three superfamilies in the suborder Yangochir ...

, most of whose members are

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

. The origin and initial diversification of Noctilionoidea may have occurred in Africa prior to their dispersal to Australia and South America, probably via Antarctica. On the basis of fossil and molecular clock evidence, myzopodids are estimated to have split off from the rest of Noctilionoidea about 50 (46 to 57) million years ago.

Species

*Genus ''Myzopoda'' **

Madagascar sucker-footed bat The Madagascar sucker-footed bat, Old World sucker-footed bat, or simply sucker-footed bat (''Myzopoda aurita'') is a species of bat in the family Myzopodidae endemic to Madagascar, especially in the eastern part of the forests. The genus was tho ...

, ''Myzopoda aurita''

Milne-Edwards Milne-Edwards is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Henri Milne-Edwards (1800–1885), French zoologist * Alphonse Milne-Edwards (1835–1900), French ornithologist and carcinologist, a son of Henri Milne-Edwards See also * Miln ...

Grandidier Grandidier is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alfred Grandidier (1836–1921), French naturalist and explorer *Ernest Grandidier (1833–1912), French industrialist, naturalist, and art collector, brother of Alfred *Guillaume G ...

, 1878 **

Western sucker-footed bat The western sucker-footed bat (''Myzopoda schliemanni'') is a Bat endemic to Madagascar. Little is known about its habits, but they are assumed to be similar to those of the Madagascar sucker-footed bat.Garbutt, Nick; ''Mammals of Madagascar''; ...

, ''Myzopoda schliemanni'' Goodman, Rakotondraparany & Kofoky, 2006 One fossil genus is known in '' Phasmatonycteris'' Gunnel, Simmons & Seiffert, 2014 from the

Late Eocene The Priabonian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Eocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans ...

and

Early Oligocene The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two age (geology), ages or the lower of two stage (stratigraphy), stages of the Oligocene epoch (geology), Epoch/series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded b ...

of Egypt.

Noctilionoidea phylogeny PLoS ONE 2014-02-04

References

* Myzopodidae Bat genera Extant Pleistocene first appearances Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards Taxa named by Alfred Grandidier Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Bat-stub