Glossophaga commissarisi
Commissaris's long-tongued bat

Glossophaga commissarisi is found from Southern Mexico to Panama (Hellebuyck 1985). ()

Glossophaga commissarisi is found in forests and mountainous areas roosting in hollow trees, caves, and houses. These bats are common in evergreen forests, banana groves, and clearings. They are more common in wetter forests than dry forests. Glossophaga commissarisi is generally found close to food sources, flowering plants and fruits (Eisenberg 1989). ()

These are medium-sized bats ranging in length from 43 to 65 mm and averaging 9.5 g in weight. Coloration varies from dark brown to lighter brown to reddish brown. The tongue is long and covered with bristle-like papillae. The cheeck teeth are narrow and elongated and the lower incisors are very small. The upper incisors are not procumbent and lower incisors are clearly separated from each other and evenly spaced. The rostrum is shorter than some other nectar-feeding phyllostomids (Nowak 1983, Emmons 1990). ()

The lifespan of G. comissarisi is unknown, but an individual of a related species, G. soricina lived to 10 years in captivity. ()

Little is known of social behavior in these bats or their relatives. They roost in small to large colonies. A related species, G. soricina is reported to defend small feeding territories. They may become torpid during the day and are active mainly at night. ()

Glossophaga species emit sound signals through their nostrils. The leaf-like structure of the nose functions like a megaphone. Their typical calls include constant frequency (CF) components followed by a short frequency modulated (FM) component. Constant frequencies are used to pick up objects from distances and aren't very accurate. Frequency modulated calls are used up close to get a better fix on the location of the target (Webster and Jones 1993).

These bats also have keen eyesight and sense of smell. ()

Glossophaga commissarisi is specialized for extracting nectar from flowers with their long, papillate tongue. By hovering in the air they insert their tongue and tip of their snout into the blossoms to extract pollen and nectar. They then fly on to the next flower and repeat the process, similar to a humming bird. They also eat soft fruits and insects, especially during the parts of the year when fruits and nectar are unavailable. ()

As are most bats, Commissaris' long-tongued bats avoid predation mainly by being active at night, being cryptically colored, roosting in safer structures, and through agile flight. Bats are preyed on by nocturnal or crepuscular birds of prey, particularly owls, and by snakes and other small predators capable of climbing into roosts.

Glossophaga commissarisi individuals are important pollinators in the ecosystems in which they live. Their feeding habits allow then to cross pollinate plants in the forest and by eating fruits they also provide a seed dispersal service. Quinata bombacopsis is a tree species that benefits from seed dispersal (Wilson 1997). ()

There are no negative impacts of G. commissarisi.

Two dozen plant families and more than 500 different species depend on pollination by G. commissarisi and other nectar-feeding bats, many of which are of great ecological or economic value. Glossophaga commissarisi individuals are the only known pollinators of hanging markea vines. Quinata bombacopsis seeds are dispersed by G. commissarisi. This wood is used to make windows, doorframes, firewood, posts, and plywood (Nowak 1994, Wilson 1997). ()

Although local habitat destruction may threaten local populations, these bats remain fairly common throughout their range.

The name Glossophaga is from the greek roots "glossa", meaning tongue, and "phaga", meaning to eat (Webster and Jones 1993). ()