Short Communication Utility of DNA barcoding for rapid and accurate assessment of bat diversity in Malaysia in the absence of formally described species

• DOI: 10.4238/2014.february.19.2
• Publication Date: 2014-02-25T07:23:46Z
• Authors: J.-J. Wilson; K.-W. Sing; M.R.A. Halim; R. Ramli; R. Hashim; M. Sofian-Azirun
• Keywords: DNA Barcoding; Barcode; Taxonomic rank

Bats are important flagship species for biodiversity research; however, diversity in Southeast Asia is considerably underestimated the current checklists and field guides. Incorporation of DNA barcoding into surveys has revealed numerous species-level taxa overlooked by conventional methods. Inclusion these inventories provides a more informative record diversity, but problematic as lack formal description. We investigated how frequently documented, undescribed, bat encountered Peninsular Malaysia. discuss whether barcode library means recognizing recording across inventories. Tissue was sampled from bats trapped at Pasir Raja, Dungun Terengganu, The extracted COI region amplified sequenced. identified 9 within our samples, based on analysis barcodes. Six specimens matched to four previously documented considered candidate currently lacking taxonomic status. This study confirms high Malaysia (9 13 samples) demonstrates allows inventory documentation known