Lesser+Long-Nosed+bat

=Lesser Long-Nosed Bat = **(Leptonycteris curasoae yerbabuenae)** **﻿ Nicknames: Sanborn's Long-nosed Bat** **By: Ricky Meir**

 **__[]__** **__Description:__** Category: Mammal, Herbivore The Lesser Long-Nosed Bat is a yellow-brown or cinnamon gray bat. It has a total head and body length measurement of approximately 3 inches (7.62 cm). The tongue measures approximately the same length as the body. This bat has a slender elongated nose with a small nose-leaf on the tip and a minute tail. The wingspan of of this bat is approximately 10 inches (25 cm) and the mass is roughly 23 g. The Lesser Long-Nosed Bat eats nectar, pollen and fruit. This bat pollinates flowers of species of plants like the columnar cacti and paniculate agaves. By doing so, the bat disperses the seeds of these plants throughout the area.

Little is known about the reproductive behavior of Lesser Long-Nosed Bats. It is hypothesized that the amount of time pregnant females carry their pup in the womb is approximately five months. There is only one pup per litter and these bats only give birth once a year. The reason for this is because during the late wet season in desert areas like Arizona and Mexico, males produce their maximum amount of annual sperm. ﻿

__Habitat: __
The Lesser Long-Nosed Bat can be found in Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico, and El Salvador. Its historic range is from central Arizona and Southwest New Mexico through much of Mexico to El Salvador. The bat's current range is similar to the historic range, except the number of occupied roost sites (nesting sites) and the amount of individuals per colony has recently declined drastically. These bats are seasonal (April-September) residents of Southeastern Arizona, and possibly extreme Western Arizona. These bats have two migration routes depending on their territorial roosts. The bats that are part of the roosts in Southwestern Arizona most likely migrate along the west coast of Mexico to as far south as Jalisco, Mexico. The bats that occupy the roosts in south-central and southeastern Arizona probably migrate along the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains until they get to Jalisco, Mexico as well. These bats live above ground in caves and mines. Since the Lesser Long-Nosed bat is a temperate bat that only migrates short distances in the colder seasons of the year, it does hibernate to evade the harsh winter conditions. This bat's major predators are snakes and carnivores living near the roosts, and owls. The Lesser Long-Nosed bat has an interspecies relationship with the plants that it feeds off of which are the columnar cacti and agaves. This is because since the bats are dependent on these plants for food, they migrate, reside, and mate based on when these plants are fertile to resp nectar, pollen, or fruit from.

__Problem:__
The 4 reasons for why the Lesser Long-Nosed bat has been listed as endangered include: 1) Its long-term population decline; 2) Recent reports of previously occupied roosts being vacant; 3) Decline in the pollination of agraves; and 5) destruction of columnar cacti and agraves ecosystem.

__Solution:__
The goals of the recovery plan are to: 1) Monitor every major roost in Arizona and Mexico for at least 5 years; 2) The results of the monitoring in #1 show a significant increase in the populations of the roosts; 3) Sufficient protection is made for these roosts and their forage plant habitats from disturbance or destruction; and 4) No new threats are made to the existence of these bats or their food source habitats.

Sources: [] LESSER(=SANBORN'S) LONG-NOSED BAT [] Lesser Long-Nosed Bat Recovery Plan-Author: Theodore H. Fleming [] Migratory Pollinators Program