It has the longest tongue relative to its body size of any known mammal, capable of extending far beyond the snout to reach nectar at the bottom of tubular agave flowers. This is an adaptation shared through convergent evolution with hummingbirds, to which it is entirely unrelated. It undertakes one of the longest known migrations of any American bat, following the staggered flowering of different agave species northwards from central Mexico to the south-western United States, and returning south in autumn when flowers become scarce. The Greater Long-nosed Bat is one of the most important pollinators of wild mountain agave, a plant upon which much of Mexico's traditional distilled spirits industry relies. Its maternity colonies are concentrated in a small number of very specific caves, making them extraordinarily vulnerable to any localized disturbance at these roosts.
A medium-sized bat with greyish-brown fur, a very long, narrow snout ending in a small nose-leaf, and an extensible tongue much longer than its head, adapted for feeding on nectar. It is distinguished from other nectar-feeding bats in the region by its somewhat larger size and details of the skull; in flight, it is extremely difficult to tell apart from related species of the same genus without direct capture.
Rocky canyons, deserts and mountainous xerophilous scrub with flowering agave, from lowlands up to mid- and high-altitude mountain zones. Distributed across central and northern Mexico and the south-western United States (Texas, New Mexico), undertaking long-distance seasonal migratory movements that follow agave flowering.
Nectarivorous, feeding on nectar and pollen from agave flowers, supplemented occasionally with soft fruit and insects depending on seasonal availability.
It undertakes long-distance seasonal migrations following the staggered flowering of agave, moving northwards in spring and summer and retreating south in autumn. It forms very large maternity colonies in a small number of specific caves, and its role as a pollinator is vital for the reproduction of wild mountain agave.
Populations have shown signs of recovery at several of its main maternity colonies thanks to the protection of key caves and cross-border conservation programmes between Mexico and the United States, although it remains reliant on a very small number of critical roosts.
Loss of flowering wild agave due to intensive harvesting for the distilled spirits industry, disturbance and disruption at the few roost caves upon which the entire species depends, and fragmentation of the agave-flowering migratory corridor.
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