Despite the fact that the genus Myotis (Mouse-Eared bats) is
one of the most investigated microchiropteran groups, recent molecular
studies highlighted the presence of several cryptic species with substantial
implications for ecological and conservation issues. Our dataset includes 55
coxI sequences from 11 morphologically-identified Italian Mouse-Eared bats
species. We applied an integrated approach comparing data from a traditional
morphological identification and molecular variability in a fragment of the
mitochondrial coxI gene (DNA barcoding). Our results clearly show a strong
coherence between the two identification approaches for almost all of the
examined species, and revealed interesting patterns of intraspecific variability
within the species M. nattereri. Finally, we successfully tested the efficacy of
our identification method on undetermined individuals sampled in the field.
