Geographic Range
Thomas's nectar bats,
Lonchophylla thomasi
, are found in Central and South America, in eastern Panama, Colombia, Venezuela,
Guianas, Amazonian Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia.
- Biogeographic Regions
- neotropical
Habitat
These bats occupy lowland rainforests throughout Central and South America. Their
distribution is strongly correlated with moist areas such as streams and rivers, and
they often roost in caves and hollow trees.
Lonchoplylla thomasi
can survive in man-made clearings but prefer evergreen tropical forests, and have
not been noted above elevations of 851 meters in Venezuela.
- Terrestrial Biomes
- rainforest
Physical Description
This species can be identified by its moderately long and narrow muzzle with a lower
jaw that is longer than the upper jaw. This long rostrum houses a long tongue with
papillae present at the tip. Their cheekteeth are narrow and elongate, with a dental
pattern 2/2:1/1:2/3:3/3 = 34. Combined head and body length ranges from 45 to 60
mm, and the tail from 8 to 10 mm. Weight is usually between 6 and 14 grams.
Thomas's nectar bats have a well-developed spear-shaped noseleaf that is high and
narrow. Their tails are short, barely reaching the middle of the interfemoral membrane,
and uropatagia are well-developed. The dorsal surface of these bats is usually a
dark brown or rusty color, with the underside lighter. They have relavtively short
ears with small traguses.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
Very little is known regarding the mating systems of Lonchophylla thomasi .
While very little has been discovered regarding the reproductive behavior of Lonchophylla thomasi , some information is available about Phyllostomids in general. However, as Phyllostomidae is a large and variable group, this information may not be applicable to this particular species.
Phyllostomids usually produce a single young, with parturtion occuring in times of
maximum food availability. These bats are often highly seasonal breeders. Many species
exhibit size dimorphism with females larger than males, probably due to the requirements
of bearing young; however, this does not seem to be the case among
Lonchophylla thomasi
.
- Key Reproductive Features
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
Parental investment in reproduction of Thomas's nectar bats is unknown. Like all mammals, female L. thomasi must nurse their young.
- Parental Investment
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
The lifespan of this species is unknown.
Behavior
Very little is known regarding the behavior of this species.
Lonchophylla thomasi
have often been discovered roosting in small groups in hollow trees or small caves,
suggesting some social behavior.
Communication and Perception
While researchers do not know much about communication among Thomas's nectar bats,
other
phyllostomids
use echolocation to communicate and percevive their environments, and it is assumed
that
Lonchophylla thomasi
does so as well. While some bats can see relatively well, their primary sensory
ability is through echolocation, in which they emit high-pitched sounds from their
noses or mouths and allow them to echo off objects in the environment, giving them
a detailed sense of the world around them. Echolocation allows bats to avoid hitting
objects when flying at night or in the darkness of caves, and to locate food.
Microchiropterans
like
Lonchophylla thomasi
probably emit sounds having only about one-thousandth the sound energy of bats that
hunt moving prey, since they feed on stationary plants. Phyllostomids specifically
emit sounds with a low amplitude pulse and a brief, highly modulated frequency. Bats
cannot receive information about their environments when their ears are plugged, reinforcing
the idea that they perceive their surroundings primarily with echolocation.
In addition to using calls of lower frequency for communication, some Chiropterans
generate a vibration throughout their entire bodies when resting and contented. However,
it is unknown if
Lonchophylla thomasi
uses these specific techniques.
- Communication Channels
- acoustic
- Other Communication Modes
- vibrations
- Perception Channels
- tactile
- acoustic
- echolocation
- vibrations
- chemical
Food Habits
Lonchophylla thomasi
are highly modified for feeding on nectar and pollen with their long muzzles and
tongues with papillae. They consume mainly nectar, but are also known to eat insects
and fruit.
- Primary Diet
- herbivore
- Animal Foods
- insects
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- fruit
- nectar
- pollen
- flowers
Predation
The predators of Lonchophylla thomasi are unknown.
Ecosystem Roles
Lonchophylla thomasi
have been strongly implicated in the pollination of night-blooming plants, although
the plant species are unmentioned in current available research.
- Ecosystem Impact
- pollinates
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Positive economic importance is unmentioned in current literature.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
While negative impact of Thomas's nectar bats is not mentioned in current literature, other bat species often carry rabies, which can be transmitted to humans if bitten.
Conservation Status
Lonchophylla thomasi are not considered threatened or endangered.
Additional Links
Contributors
Matthew Wund (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Kari Santoro (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (editor, instructor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- vibrations
-
movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- echolocation
-
The process by which an animal locates itself with respect to other animals and objects by emitting sound waves and sensing the pattern of the reflected sound waves.
- vibrations
-
movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- nectarivore
-
an animal that mainly eats nectar from flowers
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
References
Buzato, S., A. Franco. 1992. Tetrastylis ovalis: A second case of bat-pollinated passionflower (Passifloraceae). Plant Systematics & Evolution , 181 (3-4): 261-267.
Eisenberg, J., K. Redford. 1989. Mammals of the Neotropics: the Southern Cone . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Eisenberg, J. 1989. Mammals of the Neotropics: the Northern Neotropics . 1989: University of Chicago Press.
Emmons, L. 1990. Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hodgkison, R., S. Balding, A. Zubaid, T. Kunz. 2003. Fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) as seed dispersers and pollinators in a lowland Malaysian rain forest. Biotropica , 35 (4): 491-502.
Husson, A. 1978. The Mammals of Suriname . Leiden: E. S. Brill.
Nowak, R. 1994. Walker's Bats of the World . Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Webster, W., J. Jones. 1984. Notes on a collection of bats from Amazonian Ecuador. Mammalia , Volume 48, Issue 1: 247-252.