Mexican Long-nosed Bat
Facts:
- Species native to Texas
- Scientific name: Leptonycteris curasoae
- Measures about 2.75 to 3.75 inches in total length, can be dark gray to "sooty" brown in color
- Named for it's long muzzle with a prominent nose leaf at the tip
- Young bats nurse for about one month and are generally capable of flying by five weeks of age
- Live approximately 20 years
- 14 inch (35.5 cm) wingspan
- Can reach flight speeds up to 14 miles per hour
- Feed on the nectar of plants such as the agave or century plant during the night
- A mutual relationship exists, with the bats depending on the plants for food, and the plants benefiting from the bats as pollinators
- This bat prefers higher and cooler places
- Mexican Long-nosed Bats are well adapted to feeding on nectar and protein-rich pollen because of their long muzzles and tongues. Adapted for specialized feeding, they migrate to follow the bloom periods of a number of agave and cacti species
- These bats are found in desert scrub vegetation dotted with century plants (agaves), mesquite, creosotebush, and a variety of cacti
- The reasons for these population declines are not entirely understood, but are thought to be associated with loss of roosting sites and food sources. Food resources are lost by both land use change and wild agave harvesting
Ways we could preserve this species:
Most people don't think bats are all that beneficial to humans, but they are wrong. Bats help us and many others in ways such as controlling insect populations and pollenating plants.
-We could inform people of the ways in which bats help us and what would happen without them.
- We could regulate the amount of agave nectar we harvest since this is a major food source for them
- If you enter a cave or other place where bats are present you should be aware that these mammals are very sensitive to human disturbances so you should refrain from touching any of the habitat