Miller flower bat
| Miller flower bat | ||||||||||||
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Glossophaga longirostris major , female (preparation) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Glossophaga longirostris | ||||||||||||
| Miller , 1898 |
The Miller-blossom bat ( Glossophaga longirostris ) is a blossom bat from the leaf-nosed family (Phyllostomidae), which is native to Central and South America.
The generic name Glossophaga is derived from the Greek glossa (= tongue) and phagein (= to eat). The species name longirostris combines the Latin expressions longi (= long) and rostrum (= snout / beak).
description
Like most flower bats, the Miller flower bat has an elongated snout and a very long tongue. Belonging to the family of leaf noses , it also has a distinctive nasal blade 6.1 mm in length. It is the largest species of the genus Glossophaga , but can usually only be distinguished from its sister species by differences in the characteristics of the teeth. The females are on average slightly larger than the males (total length females: 58–80 mm, males: 52–75 mm), but on average weigh less (females: 12.8 g, males 13.3 g). The fur is two-colored, the peritoneum is usually reddish-brown and the back fur is cinnamon-brown. As with most bats, partial albinism can occur, which manifests itself as randomly distributed white spots in the otherwise uniformly colored fur. There are currently six subspecies, but the IUCN advises that the assignment of species and subspecies should be revised.
Way of life
The Miller blossom bat feeds on various fruits, nectar and pollen depending on the season , especially on cacti such as Stenocereus griseus , Subpilocereus repanus , Pilocereus tillianus and fruits of the blackberry tree . Because of their diet, flowering bats are important seed dispersers and pollinators of plants.
Like most bats, the species is nocturnal. During the day it hangs in groups of up to 20 animals in caves, crevices, hollow trees and houses. In such Hiding can be found next to Glossophaga longirostris also peropteryx macrotis , ghost-faced bat , Pteronotus davyi , Pteronotus personatus , micronycteris megalotis , Great phyllostominae ( Phyllostomus hastatus ) Glossophaga soricina , southern long-nosed bat and Seba's short-tailed bat ( Carollia perspicillata ). However, the species are never mixed, but keep a distance from one another.
The females are bimodal polyestrial and give birth to a young twice a year after a gestation period of about three months. The time of birth is regionally synchronized with the presence of fruits and flowers of various cacti and mulberry plants .
distribution
The Miller-flowered bat occurs in the north of South America from Colombia to Venezuela to Guyana . The IUCN can not currently assess their endangerment due to the poor data situation and the lack of clarity regarding the assignment of the subspecies.
literature
- WD Webster, CO Handley Jr., PJ Soriano (1998): Glossophaga longirostris. In: Mammalian Species . No. 576, pp. 1-5.
