Chocoan Nectar Bat vs Dense Silky-bent

Lonchophylla chocoana compared with Apera interrupta

Key Differences

• Chocoan Nectar Bat is Data Deficient while Dense Silky-bent is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chocoan Nectar Bat	Dense Silky-bent
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Poales (Grasses)
Family	Phyllostomidae	Poaceae (Grass Family)
Genus	Lonchophylla	Apera
Species	Lonchophylla chocoana	Apera interrupta

Conservation Status

Chocoan Nectar Bat

DD — Data Deficient

Dense Silky-bent

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chocoan Nectar Bat	Dense Silky-bent
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chocoan Nectar Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador.

Dense Silky-bent

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate grasslands and steppes, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 4 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Argentina, Chile). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Chocoan Nectar Bat

The Chocoan Nectar Bat (Lonchophylla chocoana) is a small, highly specialised bat in the family Phyllostomidae, endemic to the Chocó biogeographic region of northwestern South America — one of the wettest and most biodiverse regions on the planet, spanning the Pacific lowlands of Colombia and Ecuador. It belongs to the genus Lonchophylla, a group of nectarivorous (nectar-feeding) bats characterised by an elongated snout, a long, brush-tipped tongue adapted for reaching deep into flowers, and reduced cheek teeth reflecting their liquid diet. Like other lonchophyllines, the Chocoan Nectar Bat plays an important ecological role as a pollinator of night-blooming plants whose flowers are adapted for chiropterophily (bat pollination), including species of Bromeliaceae, Cactaceae, and various other families. It roosts in caves, tree hollows, and dense vegetation in lowland and foothill forests of the Chocó. The IUCN classifies this species as Data Deficient, reflecting limited survey data on its distribution, population size, and ecology. The Chocó region, despite its extraordinary biodiversity, is under severe pressure from deforestation for palm oil and other agro-industrial crops, and any specialist bat dependent on intact forest and its flowering resources is potentially vulnerable to habitat loss.