Table of Contents
Overview
Distribution
Range Description
In the Philippines this species was recorded from Batu-bato, Biliran, Bohol, Boracay, Busuanga, Cagayan de Sulu, Calauit, Caluya, Camiguin, Carabao, Catanduanes, Cebu, Dinagat, Leyte, Luzon (Albay, Aurora, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Isabela, Kalinga, La Guna, Quezon, Rizal, Sorsogon, Tarlac provinces), Marinduque, Maripipi , Masbate, Mindanao (Bukidnon, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Misamis Oriental, South Cotabato, and Zamboanga del Sur provinces), Mindoro, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Polillo, Reinard, Sanga-sanga, Seimirara, Siargao, Sibay, Sibutu, Sibuyan, Simunul, and Siquijor (Alcala and Alviola 1970; Catibog-Sinha 1987; Heaney et al. 1998, Heaney et al. 2004).
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Geographic Range
Macroglossus minimus is distributed throughout the countries of the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, New Guinea, The Solomon Islands, and northern Australia (Gunnell et al., 1996).
Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native ); australian (Native )
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Physical Description
Morphology
Physical Description
Macroglossus minimus, also known by the common name the long-tongued fruit bat, is amongst the smallest of the family Pteropodidae (Gunnell et al., 1996) The body length including the head is approximately 60 - 85 mm long (Nowak, 1991). The tail is extremely short, reaching to only about 4 mm at the longest length, and the uropatagium is almost non-existent. The ears are about half of the head length -- approximately 6 mm; Also, the ear does not have a tragus as do many families in the order Chiroptera (Dobson, 1876)
The fur of the long-tongued fruit bat is reddish-brown on the back and is very long compared to other species in Pteropodidae. The fur on the abdomen is shorter than on the back and is paler in color. A dark stripe of brown fur runs bilaterally down the top of the head to the neck. The rostrum is long and narrow and the eyes are large compared to bats in the suborder Microchiroptera (Nowak, 1991).
Sexual dimorphism does not occur in this species as it does in other genera of the same family where males possess a growth of hair tufts below each jaw on each side of the neck and females lack the hair tufts. In macroglossus minimus, both genders lack the hair tufts (Nowak, pg. 83).
Range mass: 16 to 20 g.
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Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
It usually roosts as single animals, or in small groups, under large leaves (such as palm fronds), under branches and loose bark, in bamboo or in abandoned buildings. The females give birth to a single young three times per year (Flannery 1995; Strahan 1995; Bonaccorso 1998).
Systems
- Terrestrial
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Habitat
The long-tongued fruit bat is found from urban coastal areas to denser forested areas. It is located in elevations from sea-level up to 1500 M (Michleburgh et al., 1992).
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest
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Trophic Strategy
Food Habits
Long-tongued fruit bats are appropriately named due to their long tongue for extracting nectar and pollen from flowers. Macroglossus minimus feeds primarily on nectar and pollen, but occasionally also drinks the juices of soft fruit (Nowak, 1991) The flowers it mainly feeds on are from plants of the banana tree (Musaceae), the coconut tree (Cocos nicifera), and mangroves (Sonneratiaceae) (Gunnell et al., 1996).
The long-tongued fruit bat feeds by first landing on a flower (or a nearby flower) and then using its long tongue to extract nectar or pollen from the flower (Michleburgh et al., 1992).
Long-tongued fruit bats, like many other pteropodids, have large eyes, and they orient visually. They do not use echolocation to locate their food source as do families in the suborder Microchiroptera.
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Life History and Behavior
Reproduction
Reproduction
Breeding in long-tongued fruit bats occurs about twice a year with a gestation period of about 115 to 125 days. Reproductive maturity in females is achieved at about 10 months after birth (Gunnell et al., 1996). Fertility after birth is restored shortly after weaning and most females are impregnated again at this time. Lactation lasts for about 60 to 70 days, and approximately 70 to 90 days after lactation ends the females become fertile again (Michleburgh et al., 1992).
Females seem to have no particular breeding season during the year. "Females of Macroglossus minimus [were found pregnant] ... in every month of the year" during random collections of the species in the areas of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands (Nowak 1991).
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Barcode data: Macroglossus minimus
There are 34 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank. Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species. See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Download FASTA File
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Statistics of barcoding coverage: Macroglossus minimus
Public Records: 33
Species: 36
Species With Barcodes: 1
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Justification
History
- 1996Lower Risk/least concern
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Conservation Status
The long-tongued fruit bat is not threatened due to its widespread distribution and the large number of individuals that exist in the wild. Also, this species can exist in a variety of habitats. However, there must be at least "small area(s) that has been planted with trees that produce nectar or pollen on which it can feed," (Michleburgh et al., 1992).
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
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Trends
Population
Population Trend
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Threats
Threats
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Management
Conservation Actions
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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Macroglossus minimus "is considered to be a highly efficient vector in pollen transfer for a large number of tree species," (Gunnell et al., 1996). This pollen transfer occurs during normal feeding habits and is responsible for the fertilization of a large number of trees in human-operated banana plantations. Without the long-tongued fruit bat, these trees would not be able to become fertilized naturally and produce as much fruit as they do. This could result in the unemployment of some of the harvest workers of these plantations.
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Wikipedia
Long-tongued Nectar Bat
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The Long-tongued Nectar Bat (Macroglossus minimus) is a species of megabat. M. minimus is one of the smallest species in the family Pteropodidae with an average length of 60 – 85 mm. They have a reddish brown colouring with relatively long hair compared to the other species. The hair on the abdomen is a lighter colour and there is a dark brown stripe running bilaterally down the top of the head and back.
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Distribution
M. minimus represents about 14% (n = 133) of the total fruit bats recorded during the present study. The species was observed at 11 locations in Borneo: Batang Ai, Tanjung Datu, Gunung Gading, Padawan, Samunsam and Kampong Temirat in Sarawak; Poring, Gunung Silam and Tawau in Sabah; and Sungai Kakap in Kalimantan Barat.
The species had a wide range including Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, south Philippines, Java, Borneo, New Guinea, Solomon and northern Australia (Payne et al. 1985). In Borneo it had been recorded from Kota Kinabalu, Sepilok, Sukau and Tawau in Sabah; Bandar Sri Begawan in Brunei; Bareo, Niah and Bako in Sarawak; Gunong Kenepi, Kutai and Sungai Tengah in Kalimantan.
Biology and ecology
Males constituted 53% and females 47% of the total captures. About 77% were adults and the remaining were subadults and fledging immatures. Pregnancy in females (n = 5) was observed in September 1996 at Pontianak and in July at Tawau Hills and Poring. Five other males netted at Tawau and Poring in July had enlarged testes indicating they were sexually active. An immature was captured in June 1996 at Padawan and from June to July subadults (n = 24) were netted near the forest edges of Tawau Hills and Poring including the mangrove swamp at Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary. Two females from Poring, Sabah were pregnant in July from the Pontianak area in Kalimantan Barat was pregnant in September. A tagged female released from a canopy net at Poring was later recaptured about 250 m at the forest edge.
In Malaysia, Start (1974) estimated that gestation period for Macroglossus minimus was approximately 120 ± 10 days, lactation was between 60 to 70 days and polyoestrous female with breeding interval of 140 to 160 days. In Negros, the Philippines, females probably produced 2 to 2.5 young per year (Heideman 1987). In different locations in Philippines and Malaysia the species also reproduced aseasonally and synchronously in response to food abundance (Heideman 1987; Start 1974). Three females collected in September and October on Lombok Island were lactating and parturition was recent (Kitchener et al., 1990). At Ampenam on Lombok, births occurred throughout the year and at Suranadi Park pregnant and lactating females were collected in August through October (Gunnell et al.1996). A female collected by Lim et al. (1972) in June in Sarawak was pregnant. In New Guinea, births occurred all year round (Flannery 1990). Gunnell et al. (1996) reported that the forearm growth rate was 0.24 mm/day and weight gain 0.07 g per day and free-flying immature had forearm 35.2 mm and weight 8.6 g.
Unlike the C. brachyotis, this species was not recorded in a flock, which suggest of small group or solitary social group. Mangrove and banana flowers are among the sources of the nectar and pollens fed on by the species in Malaysia (Payne et al. 1985). Ecologically, the long-tongued nectar bat plays a major role as pollinator of many trees including Bignoniaceae, Bombaceae, Leguminosae, Musaceae, Myrtaceae, Musaceae and Sonneratiaceae in Peninsular Malaysia (Start and Marshall 1976). M. minimus has been recorded in coastal mangrove, dipterocarp forest, and lower montane forest up to 1000 m (Payne et al. 1985). It feeds on nectar and pollen. M. minimus was caught in Nypa and mangrove swamps, coconut and banana plantations, forest edges with banana clumps and shifting cultivation areas. —
External measurements
78 samples. FA = 41.11±1.62, TL = 3.29±1.57 (9), EL = 13.46±1.18, TB = 16.59±1.01, WT = 14.76±2.54, WS = 290-316 (2), D5 = 54.50-58.69 (3).
Contrary to the museum observation by Payne et al. (1985), an adult male (MTA96272) from Pontianak had a tail-like projection measuring 5.18 mm. The observation is consistent with records of a tail structure measuring between 3.10 to 4.24 mm for subadults found in Sabah and Sarawak. Museum specimens fixed in formalin and preserved in alcohol are known to shrink after a period of time, and thus that small tail could be missed.
Macroglossus sobrinus (Andersen) Hill long-tongued fruit bat. M. sobrinus can be isolated from M. minimus by using external morphological measurements. Comparatively, M. sobranus is than M. minimus in the forearm length (43.35 to 46.95 mm vs 40 to 43 mm) and head length (30.05 to 30.54 mm vs 26 to 28 mm) and heavier body weight (17 to 23 g vs 13 to19 g) (Medway 1978). However, the tail length (0–2 mm versus 0–5 mm) and hind foot (8 – 9 mm versus 15–18 mm) disagreed to that of Lekagul and McNeely (1977).
See also
 | Wikispecies has information related to: Long-tongued Nectar Bat |
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Long-tongued Nectar Bat |
References in Borneo
- Hall LS, Gordon G. Grigg, Craig Moritz, Besar Ketol, Isa Sait, Wahab Marni and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Biogeography of fruit bats in Southeast Asia. Sarawak Museum Journal LX(81):191-284.
- Karim, C., A.A. Tuen and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. "Mammals". Sarawak Museum Journal Special Issue No. 6. 80: 221—234.
- Mohd. Azlan J., Ibnu Maryanto, Agus P. Kartono and M.T. Abdullah. 2003 "Diversity, Relative Abundance and Conservation of Chiropterans in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan, Indonesia". Sarawak Museum Journal 79: 251-265.
- Hall LS, Richards GC, Abdullah MT. 2002. "The bats of Niah National Park, Sarawak". Sarawak Museum Journal. 78: 255-282.
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