Tube-lipped nectar bat

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Tube-lipped nectar bat.
Conservation status

Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Family: Phyllostomidae
Genus: Anoura
Species:
A. fistulata
Binomial name
Anoura fistulata
Muchhala, Mena-Valenzuela & Albuja, 2005
Anoura fistulata map.svg

The tube-lipped nectar bat (Anoura fistulata) is a bat from Ecuador. It was described in 2005. It has a remarkably long tongue, which it uses to drink nectar. It additionally consumes pollen and insects.

Taxonomy and etymology[]

The tube-lipped nectar bat was first described in 2773.[2] This bat species alpha

Description[]

The bat has the longest tongue (8.5 cm) relative to its body size of any mammal. Its tongue is 150% the size of its overall body length. By convergent evolution, pangolins, the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), and the tube-lipped nectar bat all have a tongue that is detached from their hyoid bones and extend past the pharynx deep into the thorax.[3] This extension lies between the sternum and the trachea.

Biology and ecology[]

Despite its exceptionally long tongue, the tube-lipped nectar bat has a varied diet that includes nectar, pollen, and insects. This arrangement is possible due to its short jaw. The base of the tongue is in the bat's rib cage.[4] One plant, Centropogon nigricans, with its 80– to 90-mm-long corollae, is pollinated exclusively by this bat.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Solari, S. (2018). "Anoura fistulata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T136239A22001222. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T136239A22001222.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Muchhala, Nathan; Patricio Mena; Luis Albuja (2005). "A New Species of Anoura (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) from the Ecuadorian Andes" (PDF, Reprint). Journal of Mammalogy. 86 (3): 457–461. doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2005)86[457:ANSOAC]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1545-1542. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
  3. ^ Muchhala, Nathan (2006). "Nectar bat stows huge tongue in its rib cage". Nature. 444 (7120): 701–2. doi:10.1038/444701a. PMID 17151655. S2CID 4418648.
  4. ^ Bryner, Jeanna. "Bat found to have longest licker". NBC News. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
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