The Tube-lipped Nectar Bat (Anoura fistulata) is a bat from Ecuador which was first described in 2005.^[1] 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 tongues which are detached from their hyoid bone and extend past their pharynx deep into the thorax.^[2] This extension lies between the sternum and the trachea.

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.^[3] One plant, Centropogon nigricans with its 8-9 cm-long corollas, is pollinated exclusively by this bat.

[edit] See also

• Geoffroy's Tailless Bat
• Tailed Tailless Bat

[edit] References

1. ^ Muchhala, Nathan; Patricio Mena, and 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, http://www.bio.miami.edu/muchhala/Muchhala_etal_05.pdf. Retrieved on 7 December 2006. 
2. ^ Nectar bat stows huge tongue in its rib cage. N. Muchhala, Nature (2006) 444, 701
3. ^ Bryner, Jeanna. "Bat found to have longest licker". MSNBC. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.

[edit] External links

• Bat with record-breaking tongue length pollinates highly specialized flower. Nathan Muchhala, Department of Biology, University of Miami.