| Mexican long-tongued bats feed on fruits, pollen, nectar, and probably insects. The populations that summer in the United States migrate to Mexico and northern Central America in winter, following the blooming cycle of plants such as agaves (century plants) and some cacti. They are members of a very diverse, mostly tropical family of leaf-nosed bats, the Phyllostomidae. The nose leaf, which looks like a small triangular bump near the tip of the nose, may help direct the ultrasonic echolocation signals the bat sends through its nostrils.
Also known as:
Hog-nosed Bat
Sexual Dimorphism:
None
Length:
Range:
81-103 mm
Weight:
Range:
10-25 g
References:
Tschudi, J.J., 1844. Untersuchungen uber die Fauna Peruana. St. Gallen, parts 1-6, p. 72, 262pp.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
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Choeronycteris mexicana - image shows mother holding infant
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