Mexican Long-tongued Bat
Encyclopedia
The Mexican Long-tongued Bat (Choeronycteris mexicana) is a species of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

 in the family Phyllostomidae. It is monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

 within the genus Choeronycteris. The species is found in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Mexican long-tongued bats feed on nectar and pollen from agaves and other plants. These bats' tongues can extend up to a third of their body length, a feature which makes them uniquely equipped to reach nectar deep inside an agave or cactus blossom. In southern Arizona, long-tongued bats often get nectar from neighborhood hummingbird feeders as well. In the United States this species is found in the southern parts of California, New Mexico, and Arizona. Their range extends from Mexico through Central America and down to Venezuela. The young are born well-furred for additional warmth in the cool mountain canyons where this species roosts.
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