| Pallas's long-tongued bat | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Phyllostomidae |
| Genus: | Glossophaga |
| Species: | G. soricina |
| Binomial name | |
| Glossophaga soricina Pallas, 1766 | |
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Pallas's long-tongued bat (Glossophaga soricina) is a South and Central American bat [2] with a fast metabolism that feeds on nectar.
It has the fastest metabolism ever recorded in a mammal, similar to those of hummingbirds. Although it uses 50% of its stored fat over the course of a day, over 80% of its energy comes directly from the simple sugars that compose its diet of nectar, without being stored in any form. [3] It will also feed on pollen, flower parts, fruit and insects. [4]
A 2013 study determined that their tongues have a mopping ability that is powered by blood, a phenomenon unique in nature. Elongated hairs at the tongue's tip, which normally lie flat, become engorged with blood when the tongue is protruded. As a result, the hairs stand in erect rows, perpendicular to the tongue. The tongue tip increases by over 50 percent in length, contracting its width to squeeze enlarged vascular sinuses along the tongue's length, that are directly connected to the hairs. During this process tissue capillaries turn from pink (little blood) to dark red. The blood vessel networks that enter the tip of the tongue are fringed by muscle fibers, which contract to compress the blood vessels and displace blood towards the tip. The efficiency of this feeding mechanism is believed to enable the bats' survival on limited food sources. [5]
The New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are found from southern North America to South America, specifically from the Southwest United States to northern Argentina. They are ecologically the most varied and diverse family within the order Chiroptera. Most species are insectivorous, but the phyllostomid bats include within their number true predatory species and frugivores. For example, the spectral bat, the largest bat in the Americas, eats vertebrate prey, including small, dove-sized birds. Members of this family have evolved to use food groups such as fruit, nectar, pollen, insects, frogs, other bats, and small vertebrates, and in the case of the vampire bats, even blood.
The lesser long-nosed bat is a medium-sized bat found in Central and North America. It is sometimes known as Sanborn's long-nosed bat or the Mexican long-nosed bat, though the latter name is better avoided since it is also used for the entire genus Leptonycteris and for one of the other species in it, the greater long-nosed bat.
The long-tongued nectar bat, also known as the northern blossom bat, honey nectar bat, least blossom-bat, dagger-toothed long-nosed fruit bat, and lesser long-tongued fruit bat, is a species of megabat. M. minimus is one of the smallest species in the family Pteropodidae, with an average length of 60–85 mm. It has a reddish-brown colouring with relatively long hair compared to the other species. The hair on the abdomen is a lighter colour, and a dark brown stripe runs bilaterally down the top of the head and back.
Wagner's bonneted bat or Wagner's mastiff bat, is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in the Americas from Argentina and Peru north to Mexico, and Cuba. Populations in Florida in the United States are now recognized as the Florida bonneted bat
Geoffroy's tailless bat is a species of phyllostomid bat from the American tropics.
The lesser long-tongued bat, also called the lesser long-tailed bat, is a bat species from South America.
The dark long-tongued bat is a species of bat from South and Central America. It was formerly considered the only species within the genus Lichonycteris, but is now recognized as one of two species in that genus, along with the pale brown long-nosed bat. It is small species of bat, with adults weighing 6–11 g (0.21–0.39 oz) and having a total length of 46–63 mm (1.8–2.5 in).
Dekeyser's nectar bat is a bat species found in Brazil and Bolivia.
The pale spear-nosed bat is a species of phyllostomid bat from South and Central America.
Anoura is a genus of leaf-nosed bats from Central and South America. Anoura members lack or have a short tail, and are nectarivorous bats of small to medium size among the Phyllostomidae.
Glossophaga is a genus of bats in the leaf-nosed bat family, Phyllostomidae. Members of the genus are native to the American Neotropics.
The gray short-tailed bat, or Hahn's short-tailed bat, is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae native to Mexico and Central America.
The Mexican long-tongued bat is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is the only species within the genus Choeronycteris. The species is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States.
The southern long-nosed bat is a South American species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae.
Leach's single leaf bat, also known as Greater Antillean long-tongued bat, is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found in the southern Bahamas and in all the Greater Antilles. It forms large colonies, with up to a few hundred thousand individuals, and feeds on a relatively wide variety of food items including pollen, nectar, fruit and insects.
The banana bat is an endangered species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is also commonly known as the trumpet-nosed bat or the Colima long-nosed bat.
The large flying fox, also known as the greater flying fox, Malayan flying fox, Malaysian flying fox, large fruit bat, kalang, or kalong, is a southeast Asian species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. Despite its scientific name, it feeds exclusively on fruits, nectar, and flowers, like the other flying foxes of the genus Pteropus. It is noted for being one of the largest bats. As with nearly all other Old World fruit bats, it lacks the ability to echolocate but compensates for it with well-developed eyesight.
Glossophaginae is a subfamily of leaf-nosed bats.
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera. With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane or patagium. The smallest bat, and arguably the smallest extant mammal, is Kitti's hog-nosed bat, which is 29–34 millimetres in length, 150 mm (6 in) across the wings and 2–2.6 g in mass. The largest bats are the flying foxes, with the giant golden-crowned flying fox, reaching a weight of 1.6 kg and having a wingspan of 1.7 m.
The Sonoran–Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in northwestern Mexico.
