O’SHEA, CRYAN & BOGAN: UNITED STATES BAT SPECIES OF CONCERN 
17 
in the Luquillo Experimental Forest gradually dropped to about 30% of pre-hurricane levels, and 
had not recovered three years thereafter (Gannon and Willig, 1994). This impact of the hurricane 
was more persistent than for two other sympatric frugivorous-nectarivorous species of bats. Caus¬ 
es of the decline were related to an inability to use habitat types other than tabonuco forest, 
decreased availability of fruit, and increased exposure to climatic factors at roost sites. By 1992 it 
was feared that the population might have been in danger of disappearing as a result of hurricane- 
induced habitat alterations (Gannon and Willig, 1994). In 1998, Hurricane Georges also impacted 
this species, with populations depressed for at least four years afterwards (Gannon et al., 2005). 
Management Practices and Concerns. — Loss of this species could have significant 
impacts on forest tree composition and structure. For the bullet-wood tree in particular ( Manilka- 
ra bidentata), the red fruit bat is likely the most important seed dispersal agent. This bat also may 
be the most critical seed-disperser of early successional plants immediately after hurricanes (Gan¬ 
non and Willig, 1994). Gannon et al. (2005) recommend expanding the number and extent of for¬ 
est reserves in Puerto Rico to provide foraging and roosting habitat for bats. Observations of mor¬ 
tality of red fruit bats and other species of bats at wind power facilities in Puerto Rico cause con¬ 
cern (Rodriguez-Duran and Feliciano-Robles, 2015). 
Notes and Comments. — Anthony (1918) found fossils of this bat in an inland cave on Puer¬ 
to Rico, but a living red fruit bat has never been found in a cave on the island. 
Species Accounts: The United States 
Choeronycteris mexicana — Mexican long-tongued bat (Family Phyllostomidae) 
Conservation Status. — National and International Designations: U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (1994, 1996a,b): Species of Concern (inactive, former Category 2 candidate for listing 
under the U.S. Endangered Species Act). Bureau of Land Management (2008, 2011a, 2017): Sen¬ 
sitive Species (Arizona, New Mexico state offices). International Union for the Conservation of 
Nature (2017): Near Threatened. NatureServe (2017): Rounded Global Status G3, Vulnerable. 
State Designations: Ari¬ 
zona Game and Fish Department 
(2012): Tier 1C Species of Great¬ 
est Conservation Need; Califor¬ 
nia Department of Fish and 
Wildlife (2015b, 2017): Special 
Animals List, Species of Special 
Concern; New Mexico Depart¬ 
ment of Game and Fish (2006, 
2015): Critically Imperiled, 
Species of Greatest Conservation 
Need, Sensitive. 
Description.— The Mexi¬ 
can long-tongued bat (Fig. 5) has 
a prominent nose leaf, about five 
millimeters long, a long rostrum, 
and a short tail, extending about 
10 mill im eters beyond the tail 
membrane (Hoffmeister, 1986; 
Arroyo-Cabrales et al., 1987). 
