The multiple sex chromosome system of American leaf-nosed bats (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae)

Abstract

Karyological examination of 26 species of bats from the family Phyllostomidae revealed two Y chromosomes (XY<sub>1</sub>Y<sub>2</sub>) in six species involving three genera. All females are of the XX constitution. Meiotic studies demonstrate the origin of the additional Y in <i>Carollia</i> to be the homolog of an autosome translocated to the X element. The origin of an additional Y in <i>Artibeus</i> is best explained as a separate event. In one species of <i>Artibeus</i> (<i>A</i>. <i>turpis</i>) a centric fusion of the two Y elements is emphatically suggested.