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

The Tube-lipped Nectar Bat (Anoura fistulata) is a bat from Ecuador which was first described in 2005.^[2] The species name fistulata is derived from the Latin word 'fistula', meaning 'tube'. It refers to the bat's lower lip which extends 3.3-4.8mm beyond the upper lip and is rolled into a funnel shape. The exact function of the tube-lip is unknown. 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.^[3] 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.^[4] 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. ^ Burneo, S. & Mantilla, H. (2008). Anoura fistulata. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 18 February 2009.
2. ^ 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 2006-12-07. 
3. ^ Nectar bat stows huge tongue in its rib cage. N. Muchhala, Nature (2006) 444, 701
4. ^ Bryner, Jeanna. "Bat found to have longest licker". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16076506/. Retrieved 2006-12-07. 

[edit] External links

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

This article about a Leaf-nosed bat is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e