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iNat·366347SubfamilyMammalia1,771 field observations
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  9. ›Yangochiroptera
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  11. ›New World Leaf-nosed Bats
Vampire Bats
Plate 1 of 3. (c) José G. Martínez-Fonseca, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by José G. Martínez-Fonseca · via iNaturalist

Vampire Bats

Desmodontinae

Vampire bats, members of the subfamily Desmodontinae, are leaf-nosed bats currently found in Central and South America. Their food source is the blood of other animals, a dietary trait called hematophagy. Three extant bat species feed solely on blood: the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), the hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata), and the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi). Two extinct species of the genus Desmodus have been found in North America.

Contrary to its Latin name, the spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum) does not feed on blood.

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2 branches of this subfamily, most-observed first · about 3 known species

Common Vampire Bats

tribeDesmodontini

Hairy-legged Vampire Bats

tribeDiphyllini

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Where it lives

Recorded sightings

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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.

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Every page naming Desmodontinae in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →

This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 366347.