A recent study on the zoogeography of fruit bats (family Pteropodidae), insectivorous bats, and rats (order Rodentia: family Muridae) in Indonesia is published by Ibnu Maryanto and Seigo Higashi in Treubia. The researchers analyze biogeographic patterns of the three most specious mammalian groups, reviewing museum collections and literature records of 428 species across the Indo-Australian Archipelago. The paper provides detailed descriptions of species distributions, the effects of island size on diversity, and the zoogeographic boundaries of each taxa. Their results suggest that mobility plays a significant role in the diversity of the three taxa on islands in this region. Species compositions of highly-mobile bats are less restricted by geographic barriers; therefore, the island size has a positive effect on the local species richness of both trophic groups. In contrast, the restrictions of geographic barriers confound the diversity of less-mobile rodents on islands, reducing the relationship between island size and diversity across the region.
Ibnu Maryanto and Seigo Higashi (2011). Comparison of zoogeography among rats, fruit bats and insectivorous bats on Indonesia islands. Treubia, 38: 33-52.
