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Science 22 February 1991:
Vol. 251. no. 4996, pp. 934 - 936
DOI: 10.1126/science.2000493
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Articles

Science, Vol 251, Issue 4996, 934-936
Copyright © 1991 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Distinctive cranial and cervical innervation of wing muscles: new evidence for bat monophyly

JG Thewissen and SK Babcock

Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.

The traditional view that Old World fruit bats (Megachiroptera) and insect bats (Microchiroptera) are closely related has been challenged by claims that Megachiroptera are the sister group to flying lemurs (Dermoptera) or Primates. We found that the specialized muscles of the rostral part of the wing in Microchiroptera and Megachiroptera receive double innervation by both the facial nerve and cervical spinal nerves, suggesting that bats are monophyletic. Innervation by the facial nerve also occurs in Dermoptera and suggests that bats and Dermoptera share a common ancestor that had wings.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Understanding of bat wing evolution takes flight.
K. L. Cooper and C. J. Tabin (2008)
Genes & Dev. 22, 121-124
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