Bat populations are highly diverse, making bat species taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships an important research topic. Mitochondrial DNA, a form of maternal inheritance, has been extensively used in species relationship research. Barbastella caspica has spread widely in the Caspian region, Iran, and Central Asia, however there is no evidence of its occurrence in China. During a field investigation, we obtained a single specimen of the B. caspica species for the first time in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. We sequenced the entire mitochondrial genome, presented its genomic structure and features, and examined its evolutionary position in relation to its congenerous. The mitochondrial genome of B. caspica spans 16,933 bp, composing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and a displacement loop/control region. Consistent with previous bat mitogenome reports, the majority of mitochondrial genes are encoded on the heavy chain. With the exception of the DHU arm in tRNA-Ser1, all other tRNAs exhibit a “cloverleaf” secondary structure. Phylogenetic analysis based on 13 protein-coding genes revealed that Rhogeessa, Plecotus, and B. caspica formed one clade within the Vespertilionidae. B. caspica was found to be a sister species to B. beijingensis and B. leucomelas in the phylogenetic trees using the cytochrome b and ND1 gene sequences, respectively. This is the first report of the Barbastella genus’ mitogenome, as well as the first record of a B. caspica species from China.

Echolocation acoustic signature identification is an ideal non-invasive field survey method for chiropteran diversity. Located in the far easternmost region of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region where covers one sixth of China’s land territory, Komul city includes a variety of landscapes, including typical mountains, plateaus, plains, and the Gobi Desert, which is home to a number of terrestrial animals. By gathering bat echo sound waves between July and September 2022 and during April 2023, we investigated bat species diversity in Komul, Xinjiang, China. As a result, we identified a total of 24 species of bats belonging to two families and ten genera, of which Myotis is the dominant genus with seven species, followed by Pipistrellus with four species, and both Eptesicus and Nyctalus come after with three species. 16 of these species are novel to Xinjiang. The altitudinal distribution of these species is 500m to 2200m above sea level, and their horizontal distribution includes most of the surveyed region, e.g., Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County, Arturk County, and Ivirghul District. From a conservation perspective, three species (Miniopterus schreibersii、Myotis capaccinii and Nyctalus lasiopterus) and two species (Barbastella barbatellus and Myotis dasycneme) are listed as “vulnerable” and “near threatened” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, respectively. Rest of which are of least concern. Our findings provide a valuable reference for future ecological, genetic, and conservational studies of bats in China, especially in Xinjiang.

Maternal lineages of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are recognized as important components of intra- and inter-specific biodiversity and help us to disclose the phylogeny and divergence times of many taxa. Species of the genus Capra are canonical mountain dwellers. Among these is the Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), which is regarded as a relic species whose intra-specific classification has been controversial so far. We collected 54 samples in Xinjiang, China, and analyzed the mtDNA genes to shed light on the intra-specific relationships of the C. sibirica populations and estimate the divergence time. Intriguingly, we found that the mtDNA sequences of C. sibirica split into two main lineages in both phylogenetic and network analyses: the southern lineage, sister to C. falconeri, consisting of samples from India, Ulugqat, and Kagilik in Xinjiang; and the northern lineage further divided into four monophyletic clades A–D corresponding to their geographic origins. Samples from Urumqi, Sawan, and Arturk formed a distinct monophyletic clade C within the northern lineage. The genetic distance between the C. sibirica clades ranges from 3 to 8.6 percent, with values of FST between 0.72 and 0.95, indicating notable genetic differentiation. The split of the genus Capra occurred approximately 6.75 Mya during the late Miocene. The northern lineage diverged around 5.88 Mya, following the divergence of Clades A–D from 3.3 Mya to 1.9 Mya during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene. The radiation between the southern lineage and C. falconeri occurred at 2.29 Mya during the early Pleistocene. Our results highlight the importance of extensive sampling when relating to genetic studies of alpine mammals and call for further genomic studies to draw definitive conclusions.