Southern long-nosed bat

The southern long-nosed bat, also called the Curacaoan long-nosed bat, Leptonycteris curasoae, is a South American leaf-nosed bat of the family Phyllostomidae. It is of average size for the family, between its close relatives the greater and lesser long-nosed bats, with short greyish-brown fur, a long narrow snout, relatively short ears and a small triangular nose-leaf. Its long tongue extends easily to lap up nectar and carries hook-like papillae at the tip. It is found in northern Colombia and Venezuela and on the neighbouring islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, in semi-arid to arid habitats from coastal islands to the Andes, including thorn forest, scrubland and patches of Pachycereus cactus. Bats of Curacao were once treated as a separate subspecies but the species is now considered monotypic, and it is thought to have arisen about 540,000 years ago. It roosts by day in caves and abandoned mines in highly gregarious colonies of thousands, feeds on nectar, pollen and fruit, draws about 90 percent of its diet from cacti for most of the year, and is an important pollinator of local cacti. It breeds in November and December and young are born in May in a few maternity caves.