Long-tongued nectar bat
| Long-tongued nectar bat | |
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| Pregnant M. minimus in the Philippines | |
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| M. minimus in the Philippines | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Pteropodidae |
| Subfamily: | Macroglossinae |
| Genus: | Macroglossus |
| Species: | M. minimus |
| Binomial name | |
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Macroglossus minimus (É. Geoffroy, 1810) |
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| Geographic range of M. minimus | |
The long-tongued nectar bat (Macroglossus minimus), also known as the northern blossom bat, honey nectar bat,least blossom-bat,dagger-toothed long-nosed fruit bat, and lesser long-tongued fruit bat, 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. It has a reddish-brown colouring with relatively long hair compared to the other species. The hair on the abdomen is a lighter colour, and a dark brown stripe runs bilaterally down the top of the head and back.
M. minimus represents about 14% of the total fruit bats. Its wide geographical range includes Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, southern Philippines, Java, Borneo, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and northern Australia. In Borneo, it had been recorded from Kota Kinabalu, Sepilok, Sukau, and Tawau in Sabah; Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei; Bario, Niah and Bako in Sarawak; Gunung Kenepi, Kutai, and Sungai Tengah in Kalimantan.
M. minimus has not been recorded in flocks, which suggest they live in small group or alone. It feeds on nectar and pollen, which it can obtain from mangroves and banana flowers in Malaysia. Ecologically, the long-tongued nectar bat plays a major role as pollinator of many trees, including the families Bignoniaceae, Bombacaceae, Leguminosae, Musaceae, Myrtaceae, and Sonneratiaceae in peninsular Malaysia.M. minimus has been recorded at elevations up to 1000 m near coastal mangroves, in dipterocarp forests, and in lower montane forests.
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