The greater long-nosed bat or Mexican long-nosed bat (''Leptonycteris nivalis'') is a species of

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It chiefly consumes pollen and nectar, particularly from agave plants and cacti. Its

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

includes desert scrub and open woodlands. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Description

They are sooty brown in color, with a darker dorsally and lighter ventrally. Individual hairs are white at the base, and silver at the tips. Their forearms are long.Baker, R. J., & Cockrum, E. L. (1966). Geographic and ecological range of the long-nosed bats, Leptonycteris. Journal of Mammalogy, 47(2), 329-331. They have moderately-furred interfemoral membranes, and their short tails only have three vertebrae.Hensley, A., Wilkins, K. 1988. Mammalian Species. The American Society of Mammalogists. 307(1-4). Their muzzles are elongated, and their tongues are long and tipped with filiform papillae. The tongue attaches at the posterior side of the sternum. Their nose-leafs are triangular and erect. The average mass is Their ears are long. Like other

nectarivore In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Nectar as a food source presents a number of benefits a ...

s, this species has reduced teeth, missing the third molar while the other two molars are weakly cusped. Loss of teeth and dental ridges indicate accurately that their diet does not necessitate biting and chewing.Dumont, E. R. (1997). Cranial shape in fruit, nectar, and exudate feeders: implications for interpreting the fossil record. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 102(2), 187-202.

Range

The species is found in southern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

from June through August. It is found in central

throughout the rest of the year. They roost primarily in caves and mines, but can also be found in unoccupied buildings, hollow trees, and even sewers. While it has been alleged that the bats are found as far south as

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

,Simmons, N. B. 2005. Chiroptera. Pp. 312–529 in Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference (D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder, eds.). Third edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. the IUCN disputes this notion, and lists its southernmost occurrence as central Guerrero.

Reproduction

Little research has focused on reproduction in this species, but there are speculations based on this limited body of work. Mating occurs in November and December in Cueva del Diablo, which coincides with the greatest availability of food around the cave. They likely have a

polygynandrous Polygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season. In sexually reproducing diploid animals, different mating strategies are employed by males and females, because the cost of ga ...

mating system, where males and females mate multiple times with different individuals.Caballero, L. 2004. Observaciones sobre la conducta reproductiva de Leptonycteris nivalis (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) en Tepoztlán, Morelos, México. Tesis de Licenciatura. Facultad de Ciencias. UAEM Because male

testes A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testoster ...

are significantly larger during the mating season and females mate with multiple males, there is likely

sperm competition Sperm competition is the competitive process between spermatozoa of two or more different males to fertilize the same egg during sexual reproduction. Competition can occur when females have multiple potential mating partners. Greater choice and ...

between males. Females are hypothesized to exhibit

sperm storage Female sperm storage is a biological process and often a type of sexual selection in which sperm cells transferred to a female during mating are temporarily retained within a specific part of the reproductive tract before the oocyte, or egg, is f ...

or embryonic diapause. It is thought that they are

monoestrous The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous p ...

; therefore they only breed once per year. Birth likely occurs during May, during female migration to northern Mexico or the southwestern United States. Litters likely consist of a single pup.Davis, W.B. 1974. The mammals of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 41:1-294. Males are likely non-migratory, and adult males are rarely encountered in the United States.Adams, E. R. (2015). Seasonal and nightly activity of Mexican long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris nivalis) in Big Bend National Park, Texas (Doctoral dissertation, Angelo State University). Females form

maternity colonies A maternity colony refers to a temporary association of reproductive female bats for giving birth to, nursing, and weaning their pups. The colonies are initiated by pregnant bats. After giving birth, the colony consists of the lactating females an ...

in the northern parts of their range, with

lactating Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The proces ...

females and their young arriving at a cave in Texas in June.Schmidly, D.J. 1991. The Bats of Texas, Texas A&M Press, College Station, TX There are records, however, of pregnant females arriving as early as mid-April, which shows that some females do not give birth until completing migration. Based on censuses, it is thought that the pups do not become volant until July.Ammerman, L. K., McDonough, M., Hristov, N. I., & Kunz, T. H. (2009). Census of the endangered Mexican long-nosed bat Leptonycteris nivalis in Texas, USA, using thermal imaging. Endangered Species Research, 8(1-2), 87-92. The adult females and their young leave Texas in August.

Ecology

While the greater long-nosed bat consumes nectar from the same plants as the southern long-nosed bat, the two species utilize different habitats. The greater long-nosed bat prefers higher altitudes and lower temperatures than the southern long-nosed bat, though they're both found in dry habitats.Arita, H. T. (1991). Spatial segregation in long-nosed bats, Leptonycteris nivalis and Leptonycteris curasoae, in Mexico. Journal of Mammalogy, 72(4), 706-714. The greater long-nosed bat selects habitats with more pine and oak trees than the southern long-nosed bat. The species mates in only one known cave–Cueva del Diablo near Tepoztlán, Mexico, which it shares with the common vampire bat and Parnell's mustached bat. The greater long-nosed bat consumes nectar from multiple plants, including tree-like cacti, Ceiba trees, shaving brush trees, morning glory trees, powder puff plants, flowering shrubs, and four species of Agave (''Agave dasylirioides'', ''Agave horida'', ''Agave inaequidens'', and Agave of Salm).Sánchez, R., & Medellín, R. A. (2007). Food habits of the threatened bat Leptonycteris nivalis (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a mating roost in Mexico. Journal of Natural History, 41(25-28), 1753-1764. This species is highly opportunistic, rotating its dietary selection as different plants come into bloom.

Conservation

Population numbers of this species have likely been in decline for several decades. In 1988, the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

listed it as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

. The species is listed as threatened in Mexico. In 1995, The Program for the Conservation of Migratory Bats between Mexico and the United States was started by a concerned group of international bat specialists in response to a decline of multiple bat species in Mexico. PCCM has been valuable in conducting

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

es of the greater long-nosed bats in Cueva del Diablo. To reduce vandalism in Cueva del Diablo and promote appreciation of bats, PCCM created a series of children's books, educational activities, and TV reports. In 2013,

Bat Conservation International Bat Conservation International (BCI) is an international nongovernmental organization working to conserve bats and their habitats through conservation, education, and research efforts. BCI was founded in 1982 by bat biologist Merlin Tuttle, who ...

listed this species as one of the 35 species of its worldwide priority list of conservation. There is evidence that the population in the United States has increased since 1984, with the population in Arizona one hundred times greater in 2000 than it was in 1984. Because it is a highly

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

species, disturbance at a single cave can have a significant negative impact on the entire species.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q302110 Leptonycteris Bats of Central America Bats of Mexico Bats of the United States Bat, Greater Mammals described in 1860 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot ESA endangered species