NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Orange Nectar Bat
Lonchophylla robusta Miller, 1912
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The orange nectar bat (Lonchophylla robusta) is a species of bat in the family Phyllostomidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Orange nectar bats in Costa Rica were observed utilising a unique feeding mechanism that has not been seen in any other animal, allowing them to pull liquid against gravity using a pumping mechanism. The orange nectar bat's tongue contains two grooves filled with tiny muscles that force the nectar up into the bat's mouth. Two forces are at work here, capillary action and muscle force. The orange nectar bat likely developed this method independently of other species due to its unique oral anatomy.
Wikipedia contributors, Orange nectar bat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:08:50.607879+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lonchophylla robusta Miller, 1912
- Name authority
- Miller, 1912
- Common name
- Orange Nectar Bat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Chiroptera
- Family
- Phyllostomidae
- Genus
- Lonchophylla
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderChiroptera Blumenbach, 1779
- suborderYangochiroptera Koopman, 1984
- superfamilyNoctilionoidea Gray, 1821
- familyPhyllostomidae Gray, 1825
- subfamilyLonchophyllinae Griffiths, 1982
- tribeLonchophyllini Griffiths, 1982
- genusLonchophylla Thomas, 1903
- speciesLonchophylla robusta Miller, 1912
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lonchophylla. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman's Nectar BatLonchophylla concava Goldman, 1914 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Handley's Nectar BatLonchophylla handleyi Hill, 1980 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Nectar BatLonchophylla hesperia G. M. Allen, 1908 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brazilian Nectar BatLonchophylla mordax Thomas, 1903 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orces's Long-tongued BatLonchophylla orcesi Albuja & Gardner, 2005 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Cordilleran Nectar BatLonchophylla orienticollina Dávalos & Corthals, 2008 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bokermann's Nectar BatLonchophylla bokermanni Sazima, Vizotto & Taddei, 1978 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dekeyser's Nectar BatLonchophylla dekeyseri Taddei, Vizotto & Sazima, 1983 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chocoan Nectar BatLonchophylla chocoana Dávalos, 2004 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pacific Forest Long-tongued BatLonchophylla fornicata Woodman, 2007 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pale-bellied Nectar BatLonchophylla inexpectata Moratelli & Dias, 2015 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Peracchi's Nectar BatLonchophylla peracchii Dias, Esbérard & Moratelli, 2013 | PhyllostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Choeroniscus mexicana ponsi Pirlot, 1967 Pirlot, 1967 | synonym |
| Choeroniscus periosus ponsi Pirlot, 1967 Pirlot, 1967 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=631797 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3VY8R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.