Lesser Long-nosed Bat

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Lesser Long-nosed Bat

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Phyllostomidae
Genus:	Leptonycteris
Species:	L. yerbabuenae

Binomial name

Leptonycteris yerbabuenae
Martinez & Villa, 1940

The Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) is a medium-sized bat found in desert scrub regions of the south-western United States and Mexico. It is sometimes known as Sanborn's Long-nosed Bat or the Mexican Long-nosed Bat, though the last name is better avoided since it is also used for the entire genus Leptonycteris and for one of the other species in it, the Big Long-nosed Bat L. nivalis. Enthusiasts for the bats often refer to them simply as Leptos because they are the best known members of the genus Leptonycteris.

Adult Lesser Long-Nosed Bats are yellow-brown or gray above, with rusty brown fur below. Their tails are short and their ears are small. Like all members of the leaf-nosed bat family Phyllostomidae they have a triangular noseleaf that juts from the end of their noses. They feed mainly on nectar from night-blooming plants such as saguaro, Organ Pipe Cactus, as well as century plant and other agaves. They are important pollinators of night-blooming cactus.

Within the US, the Lesser Long-nosed Bat is currently confined to the states of Arizona and New Mexico, though its range was formerly greater, extending south into El Salvador. They are summer migrants to the US, giving birth to a single pup in May, like the Southern Long-nosed Bat L. curasoae. They spend the winter in central Mexico, and mating takes place there during the winter; however some of the bats do not migrate north, and these animals give birth in the winter, presumably after mating in the summer since gestation takes about 6 months. They roost in caves or abandoned mines.

Some authorities treat the Lesser Long-nosed Bat as a subspecies of Leptonycteris curasoae, designating it as L. c. yerbabuenae.

The Lesser Long-nosed bat is classified as endangered in both the US and Mexico, though there has been some controversy both about its rarity and its importance as a pollinator. Bat censuses taken before the species was listed as endangered may have missed roosts containing many bats. However even if numbers are higher than once thought, the species remains vulnerable because of its use of a relatively small number of "maternity roosts", and there is no current move to downgrade its conservation status.