Creature Feature Encyclopedia: Mammalia

Long-Tongued Nectar Bat

At two and a half inches long, the Long-Tongued Nectar Bat is one of the smallest plant-eating bats. It has a long tongue and a thin, pointed nose which help it to carefully slurp the sweet nectar out of blossoms such as the red-orange bottle brush. The Nectar Bat is a vital pollinator in its habitat: rainforests of Thailand, the Solomon Islands, and northern Australia. It roosts in the leaves of banana trees and hemp plants. In some areas, the Long-Tongued Nectar Bat can bear young during any season.

~A Fly in the Sky © 1996