Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Pallas's long tongued bat

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Kingdom
  
Order
  
Chiroptera

Genus
  
Rank
  
Species

Phylum
  
Chordata

Family
  
Phyllostomidae

Scientific name
  
Glossophaga soricina

Higher classification
  
Glossophaga

Pallas's long-tongued bat httpsfarm5staticflickrcom409749434653288dd

Similar
  
Glossophaga, Bat, Leaf‑nosed bat, Seba's short‑tailed bat, Carollia

Pallas's Long-Tongued Bat (Glossophaga soricina) is a South and Central American bat with a fast metabolism that feeds on nectar.

Contents

Pallas's long-tongued bat Bats use Blood for Tongue Erections and Better Feeding Scientific

Metabolism

Pallas's long-tongued bat Pallas39s Longtongued Bat Glossophaga soricina The Roger Tory

It has the fastest metabolism ever recorded in a mammal, similar to those of hummingbirds. Although it uses 50% of its stored fat over the course of a day, over 80% of its energy comes directly from the simple sugars that compose its diet of nectar, without being stored in any form.

Tongue action

Pallas's long-tongued bat Bats use Blood for Tongue Erections and Better Feeding Scientific

A 2013 study determined that their tongues have a mopping ability that is powered by blood, a phenomenon unique in nature. Elongated hairs at the tongue's tip, which normally lie flat, become engorged with blood when the tongue is protruded. As a result, the hairs stand in erect rows, perpendicular to the tongue. The tongue tip increases by over 50 percent in length, contracting its width to squeeze enlarged vascular sinuses along the tongue's length, that are directly connected to the hairs. During this process tissue capillaries turn from pink (little blood) to dark red. The blood vessel networks that enter the tip of the tongue are fringed by muscle fibers, which contract to compress the blood vessels and displace blood towards the tip. The efficiency of this feeding mechanism is believed to enable the bats' survival on limited food sources.

Pallas's long-tongued bat PallasLongtongued Bat Glossophaga soricina and Preston Flickr

Pallas's long-tongued bat Pallas39s longtongued bat Wikipedia

Pallas's long-tongued bat Bat39s SuperLong Tongue Powered by Blood With Video

Pallas's long-tongued bat Pallas39s longtongued bat Glossophaga soricina facts

Pallas's long-tongued bat Pallas39s Longtongued Bat observed by svaldvard on December 20 2011

References

Pallas's long-tongued bat Wikipedia