Abstract
Mitogenomic data are increasingly used in evolutionary biology and ecology, stressing theimportance for double checking the authenticity of DNA sequences. For example, Szczes´niaket al. (2013) recently published the mitochondrial genome of a bat, the Leschenault’s rousette(Rousettus leschenaultii). Here we show using straightforward phylogenetic analyses of availablechiropteran sequence data that the taxonomic attribution of the reported mitogenome iserroneous. The purportedly-new complete mitochondrial genome likely belongs to theEgyptian fruit bat (R. aegyptiacus) for which a reference sequence already exists. We proposethat future articles reporting complete mitochondrial genome sequences should mandatorilyinclude maximum likelihood trees inferred from (i) the standard barcoding marker for the taxonunder focus, which would benefit from the massive data available in public databases, and(ii) the available mitogenomes of closely related species. We also strongly advise these trees bepresented as phylograms so that all pertinent phylogenetic information is displayed in the formof a topology and its associated branch lengths. Along with compulsory information on thegeographical location and origin of the specimen, these new standards should help avoidingthe publication of taxonomically misidentified mitogenomes that might end up as referencesequences in public databases and re-used in subsequent meta-analyses.