Flower bats
| Flower bats | ||||||||||||
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Geoffroy's Tailless Bat ( Anoura geoffroyi ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Glossophaginae | ||||||||||||
| Bonaparte , 1845 |
The flower bats (Glossophaginae), also known as flower or long-tongue bats , are a group of bats that are classified as a subfamily of leaf noses (Phyllostomidae). This group includes around 23 species in 10 genera, all of which live on the American continent .
description
Flower bats are generally small bats with a head body length of 5 to 9 centimeters and a weight of 5 to 30 grams. Their fur is mostly brown in color, some species are also grayish or black. One of the most striking features is the greatly elongated snout with a small nasal blade at the tip. The tongue is very long (up to 75 millimeters) and covered with brush-like papillae. These characteristics show similarities with the long-tongue flying dogs, with which they are not closely related. The molars are often elongated, but in some species the lower incisors are missing .
Distribution and way of life
Flowering bats are distributed from the southern United States to northern Argentina and are also found in the Antilles . Most of the species live in the rainforests, but some are also found in extremely dry habitats. They are nocturnal, during the day they sleep in caves, mines, hollow tree trunks or in abandoned buildings, some species can form huge groups.
These animals are omnivores and eat nectar , pollen and fruits as well as insects. It used to be believed that nectar was their main food and that insects were only eaten by chance, but now several animals have also been observed actively hunting insects. Through their diet, they play an important role in the pollination of numerous flowering plants.
Reproduction
The females can give birth up to twice a year, in cooler regions there are often certain mating seasons, while in warmer regions the animals are able to reproduce all year round. As is usual with bats, a single young is usually born. Life expectancy in human care can be over 10 years.
threat
One of the main threats to these animals is the loss of their habitat, as a result of which they are also robbed of their food by clearing flowering plants. In addition, residential quarters are sometimes fumigated or blown up, as they are mistaken for vampire bats , which are feared as vectors of disease. The IUCN lists one species, Leptonycteris nivalis , as threatened and four others as endangered.
Systematics
The flower bats are classified as a subfamily of the leaf noses . In some systematics, the Antilles fruit vampires (Brachyphyllinae), the Antilles blossom bats (Phyllonycterinae) and the Lonchophyllinae are also counted among the blossom bats. There are ten genera:
- Anoura : The genus Anoura comprises five species ( A. caudifer , A. cultrata , A. fistulata , A. geoffroyi and A. latidens ) that are distributed from Mexico to southeastern Brazil . These animals are characterized by a very short tail and their habitat is mainly rainforests. The peculiarity of A. fistulata is its tongue, up to 8.5 centimeters (1.5 times its body length), with which itsucksthe nectar of the bellflower plant Centropogon nigricans and is the only known pollinator.
- Choeroniscus : The genus Choeroniscus includes three species ( C. godmani , C. minor and C. periosus ). With a head body length of 50 to 55 millimeters and a weight of 5 to 9 grams, they are among the smallest species of flowering bats. They live mainly in forests from western Mexico to Bolivia and Brazil. C. periosus lives in a small area on the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador and is considered endangered.
- The long-nosed bat ( Choeronycteris mexicana ) is widespread from the southern United States to Honduras . The species has a remarkably long snout and lives in rather dry habitats.
- Dryadonycteris : a monotypical genus from the Mata Atlântica of Brazil,newly described in 2012.
- Glossophaga : The genus Glossophaga comprises five species, including the best-known representative of the flower bats, the (actual) flower bat ( Glossophaga soricina ). The coloring of these animals varies from reddish brown to dark brown, the very short tail is characteristic. Animals of this genus arenative tonorthern Mexico to northern Argentina : G. commissarisi and G. soricina occur in both Central and South America, while G. leachii and G. morenoi are found in Central America and G. longirostris limited to South America.
- Hylonycteris underwoodi is one of the smaller species, weighing 6 to 9 grams. These animals live in Central America, from southern Mexico to Panama .
- Leptonycteris : The genus Leptonycteris comprises two species, which are distributed from the southern USA ( Arizona , New Mexico , Texas ) to Colombia and Venezuela . With a head body length of up to 95 millimeters and a weight of up to 30 grams, they are among the largest representatives of their group. The populations from the southern United States migrate to warmer areas in winter. L. nivalis lives from the southern USA to Guatemala and prefers higher-lying forests as habitat, L. curasoae , which is distributed from the southern USA to Venezuela, occurs mainly in dry areas. L. nivalis is considered to be threatened and L. curasoae as endangered.
- Lichonycteris obscura is common from Guatemala to Bolivia and southeastern Brazil. The relatively small species occurs mainly in rainforests.
- Monophyllus : The genus Monophyllus comprises two species ( Monophyllus plethodon and Monophyllus redmani ) thatare endemicto the Antilles . Their characteristic feature is the longtail protrudingfrom the uropatagium (the flight membrane between the legs).
- The banana bat ( Musonycteris harrisoni ) lives in a small area in southwestern Mexico. It has an extremely long snout that is over half the length of the skull. The species got its name because the first specimens were found in banana plants. The banana bat is considered endangered.
- Scleronycteris ega is known only to five specimens, those in southern Venezuela and northwestern Brazil (state of Amazonas ). These animals are colored brown and reach a length of 57 millimeters. The IUCN lists them as endangered.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bats - how they learned to fly and to hunt. In: Spectrum of Science. September 2009, pp. 50-57.
- ↑ Marcelo R. Nogueira, Isaac P. Lima, Adriano L. Peracchi, and Nancy B. Simmons. 2012. New genus and species of nectar-feeding bat from the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae, Glossophaginae). American Museum novitates. 3747, doi: 10.1206 / 3747.2
