long-tongued nectar bat

{{Speciesbox

| name = Long-tongued nectar bat

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Waldien, D.L. |author2=Dancy, J. |author3=Wortham, G. |author4=Santiago, K. |date=2021 |title=Macroglossus minimus |volume=2021 |page=e.T12594A22027337 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T12594A22027337.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}

| image = Macroglossus minimus pregnant.jpg

| image_caption = Pregnant individual in the Philippines

| image2= Macroglossus minimus 2.jpg

| image2_caption = in the Philippines

| genus = Macroglossus

| species = minimus

| authority = (É. Geoffroy, 1810)

| range_map = Long-tongued Nectar Bat area.png

| range_map_caption = Geographic range of M. minimus

}}

The long-tongued nectar bat (Macroglossus minimus), also known as the northern blossom bat, honey nectar bat,{{cite journal|last1=Bartels|first1=W|last2=Law|first2= BS|last3= Geiser|first3= F|title=Daily torpor and energetics in a tropical mammal, the northern blossom-bat Macroglossus minimus (Megachiroptera)|journal=Journal of Comparative Physiology B|date=April 1998|volume=168|issue=3|pages=233–239|pmid=9591364|doi=10.1007/s003600050141|s2cid=16870476}} least blossom-bat,{{cite journal|jstor=1383902|title=Home Range and Territoriality in the Least Blossom Bat, Macroglossus minimus, in Papua New Guinea |first1=John R.|last1= Winkelmann|first2= Frank J.|last2=Bonaccorso |last3=Goedeke |first3= Elizabeth E.|last4=Ballock |first4=Laura J. |last5=Ballock|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=84|issue=2 |date=May 2003|pages=561–70|publisher= American Society of Mammalogists |doi=10.1644/1545-1542(2003)084<0561:hratit>2.0.co;2 |doi-access=free}} dagger-toothed long-nosed fruit bat, and lesser long-tongued fruit bat, is a species of megabat. M. minimus is one of the smallest species in the family Pteropodidae, with an average length of 60–85 mm. It has a reddish-brown colouring with relatively long hair compared to the other species. The hair on the abdomen is a lighter colour, and a dark brown stripe runs bilaterally down the top of the head and back.

Distribution

Its wide geographical range includes Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, southern Philippines, Java, Borneo, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and northern Australia. In Borneo, it had been recorded from Kota Kinabalu, Sepilok, Sukau, and Tawau in Sabah; Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei; Bario, Niah and Bako in Sarawak; Gunung Kenepi, Kutai, and Sungai Tengah in Kalimantan.

M. minimus has not been recorded in colonies, which suggest they live in small groups or alone. It feeds on nectar and pollen, which it can obtain from mangroves and banana flowers in Malaysia. Ecologically, the long-tongued nectar bat plays a major role as pollinator of many trees, including the families Bignoniaceae, Bombacaceae, Leguminosae, Musaceae, Myrtaceae, and Sonneratiaceae in peninsular Malaysia.{{cite journal|title=Nectarivorous bats as pollinators of trees in West Malaysia|last1=Start|first1=A.N.|last2=Marshall|first2=A.G.|journal=Linnean Society Symposium Series|pages=141–150|year=1976|number=2}} M. minimus has been recorded at elevations up to 1000 m near coastal mangroves, in dipterocarp forests, and in lower montane forests.

Biology

Of total captures, males constituted 53% and females 47%. About 77% were adults.

Sexually active males have enlarged testes, and polyestrous females have a breeding period of 140 to 160 days. Estimates for the gestation period for M. minimus is approximately 120 days (± 10 days), lactation occurs for 60 to 70 days. In Negros Island, Philippines, females studies produced two or three young per year. The species reproduces aseasonally (throughout the year) and synchronously in response to food abundance.

= External measurements =

For young bats, the forearm grows at {{convert|0.24|mm}} per day and weight is gained at {{convert|0.07|g}} per day. A free-flying immature bat has a forearm length of {{convert|35|mm}} and weighs around {{convert|9|g}}. The length of the head and body in adults is {{convert|60|–|85|mm}}, with the head being {{convert|26|–|28|mm}} in length. The length of the forearm is {{convert|40|–|43|mm}}, and the weight is {{convert|12|–|18|g}}. It is shorter and lighter than Macroglossus sobrinus.

Notes

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite book| title=Mammals of New Guinea| last=Flannery| first=Timothy| publisher=Robert Brown and Associates| year=1990| isbn=1862730296}}

{{cite book|editor-first=Darrell John|editor-last= Kitchener|editor-first2= Agustinus|editor-last2= Suyanto|title=Proceedings of the First International Conference on Eastern Indonesian-Australian Vertebrate Fauna, Manado, Indonesia, November 22-26, 1994|year=1996|publisher=Western Australian Museum for Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia|location=Perth, Australia|isbn=9780730970408|oclc=681910338|chapter=Field observations of Macroglossus minimus(Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) on Lombook Island, Indonesia|last1=Gunnell|first1=A. C.|last2=Yani|first2=M.|last3=Kitchener|first3=D. J.|pages=127–145}}

{{cite journal|jstor=1381575|title=Patterns of Faunal Diversity and Species Abundance of Non-Volant Small Mammals on Negros Island, Philippines|first1=Paul D.|last1= Heideman|first2= Lawrence R.|last2= Heaney|first3= Rebecca L.|last3= Thomas |first4=Keith R.|last4= Erickson|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=68|number=4|date=November 1987|pages= 884–888|publisher=American Society of Mammalogists|doi=10.2307/1381575}}

{{cite book|first1=Junaidi|last1= Payne|first2=Charles M.|last2= Francis |title=A field guide to the mammals of Borneo|year=1985|publisher=Sabah Society|location=Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia|isbn=9789679994711|page=179}}

{{cite book|last=Medway|first=L.|year=1978|title=Mammals of Borneo: field keys and an annotated checklist|location=Kuala Lumpur|publisher=Monographs of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=7}}

{{cite book| publisher = JHU Press| isbn = 9780801849862| last = Nowak| first = Ronald M.| title = Walker's Bats of the World| date = 1 December 1994| page = [https://archive.org/details/walkersbatsofwor00rona/page/83 83]| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/walkersbatsofwor00rona/page/83}}

{{cite thesis|last=Start|first= AN |year=1974|title= The feeding biology in relation to food source of nectivorous bats (Chiroptera: Macroglossinae) in Malaysia|type=PhD|publisher= University of Aberdeen}}

}}

References

{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/1536532|last1= Hall|first1= Les S.|first2=Gordon G.|last2= Grigg|first3= Craig |last3=Moritz|first4=Besar|last4= Ketol|first5= Isa|last5= Sait|first6= Wahab |last6=Marni|first7= M.T.|last7= Abdullah|year=2004|title=Biogeography of fruit bats in Southeast Asia|journal=Sarawak Museum Journal|volume=LX|number=81|pages=191–284}}
{{cite journal|last1= Hall|first1= Les S.|last2= Richards|first2= G.C.|last3= Abdullah|first3= M.T.|year= 2002|title=The bats of Niah National Park, Sarawak|journal=Sarawak Museum Journal|volume=78|pages=255–282}}
{{cite journal|last1= Karim|first1= C.|first2= A.A.|last2= Tuen|first3= M.T.|last3= Abdullah|year=2004|title=Mammals|series=Sarawak Museum Journal |volume=6|number=80, Special Issue|pages=221–234}}
{{cite journal|last1=Mohd|first1= Azlan J.|first2= Ibnu|last2= Maryanto|first3= Agus P.|last3= Kartono|first4= M.T.|last4= Abdullah|year=2003|title=Diversity, Relative Abundance and Conservation of Chiropterans in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan, Indonesia|journal=Sarawak Museum Journal|volume=79|pages=251–265}}