Anatomical Correlates to Nectar Feeding among the Strepsirrhines of Madagascar: Implications for Interpreting the Fossil Record
Figure 8
Differences in flowers and nectar-feeding technique. This drawing by Suloni Robertson was inspired by a photograph taken by Merlin [91]. (a) A long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris curasoae) feeding on a saguaro cactus flower. Like a lock and key, this large mammalian nectivore’s head is closely matched in shape to the flower on which it is feeding. (b) A blossom bat (Syconycteris australis) feeding on nectar of the swamp banksias flower (Banksia dentata). This small-bodied nectivorous bat is feeding from superficial nectaries.
