Lichonycteris obscura Thomas 1895
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Phyllostomidae
Lichonycteris
Lichonycteris obscura

description: 81. Dark Long-tongued Bat <i>Lichonycteris obscura</i> <b>French:</b> Lichonyctére sombre / <b>German:</b> Dunkle Langzungenfledermaus / <b>Spanish:</b> Liconicterio oscuro <b>Other common names:</b> Dark Brown Long-nosed Bat <b>Taxonomy.</b> Lichonycteris obscura Thomas, 1895, “ Managua,” Nicaragua. For a long time, L. obscura was considered conspecific with L. degener from South America, east of the Andes. Monotypic. <b>Distribution.</b> S Mexico (Tabasco and Chiapas) S through Central America to the W slope of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head—body 46-55 mm, tail 6-9 mm, ear 9-13 mm, hindfoot 8-12 mm, forearm 31-35 mm; weight 6-8-8 g (non-reproductive adults). Males are notably smaller than females. Dorsal fur of the Dark Long-tongued Bat is dark brown and has clearly tricolored hairs, with dark bases, pale middles, and dark tips. It is one of the smallest nectar-feeding specialists of phyllostomids, with only moderately elongated and rather slender rostrum. Wing membrane is attached to foot near bases of outer toes. Lower incisors are missing, and there are only two upper and lower molars. <b>Habitat.</b> Mainly evergreen lowland primary and secondary rainforests but occasionally more disturbed areas when nectar resources are abundant (plantations) from lowlands up to elevations of ¢. 1000 m. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Dark Long-tongued Batis a nectar specialist. In north-eastern Costa Rica, they visited at least 14 different plant species, including bromeliads, the Balsa tree (Ochroma pyramidale, Malvaceae), Mucuna holtonu (Fabaceae), and cultivated banana. An individual in Chiapas had eaten pollen of Lonchocarpus sp. (Fabaceae). <b>Breeding.</b> Pregnant Dark Long-tongued Bats were found in north-eastern Costa Rica in October-February, suggesting a bimodal reproduction pattern. <b>Activity patterns.</b> Dark Long-tongued Bats are strictly nocturnal. The few roosting Dark Long-tongued Bats observed so far were found exclusively alone and within or underfallen trees, mostly close to the ground. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Dark L.ong-tongued Bats occur only at very low densities. In north-eastern Costa Rica, they were almost exclusively captured in October-February, during a period of high flower availability; their whereabouts outside this period were unknown. Very small body size appears not to be particularly conducive for large-scale migration, so perhaps this seasonal appearance was caused by their small-scale resource tracking movements. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Nevertheless, the Dark Long-tongued Bat probably depends largely on evergreen forest habitats that could be threatened in the future. <b>Bibliography.</b> Griffiths &amp; Gardner (2008a), Hill (1986a), Reid (2009), Solari (2018f), Tschapka (1998, 2004), Villalobos-Chaves et al. (2013).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson &amp; Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, pp. 444-583 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 525, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6458594