Nectar bats show a rich variety in adaptive morphological traits - such as hair structure, tongue length, tooth reduction or rostral prolongation… comparing different skull features (i.e. mandibular length, height of coronoid process, palatinal length) which would you regard as the most characteristic data expressing nectarivory?
I would say that the elongation of the snout is the most informative characteristic; nevertheless, when you go into comparison within the nectar feeding bats the tongue length is a pretty informative character
Hope this helps!
Luis: Thanks for your prompt answer - if you had to choose a single sceletal criterion: on which you would rely first?
Greetings, Ernst-Hermann
Phillip: thanks for your comment on the tongue and the link to the National Geographic Video - it is a really amazing video (I recommendate to everyone interested) about Anoura fistulata....but back to my question: just looking at the skull - is there a (single) cranial detail you would pay the most attention?
Cheers,
Ernst-Hermann
I agree with the tongue being the best indicator. We have in the Neotropical region many nectarivorous species which do not have such elongated snout. Glossophaga soricina is from the nectarivorous subfamily Glossophaginae but does not have such characteristic in the rostrum. But the most striking case is Phyllostomus discolor, which comes from an insectivore/carnivore clade but is a highly nectarivore species. The morphological features associated to this are its prognathous jaw and specialized tongue.
Guilherme:
So do I think - but what about the specialization of the tongue in P.discolor ? Do you know a paper on this issue?
Greetings, Ernst-Hermann
Thanks for these detailed links - by the way I learned about your fascinating observations on Antrozous pallidus pollinating columnar cacti....
All the best,
Ernst
Johanset:
thanks for your contribution to my question - by the way: you are the first to mention concrete cranial details concerning nectarivory...in fact the ratio of mandibular length/coronoid may be the most striking trait, I agree.
You are experienced in Monophyllus? Very fascinating bat (not only the positioning of lower incisives)!
All the best,
Ernst
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