(Desmodontinae)

Mia Sečová
I.C
Habitat
ѧ They range from northern Mexico through
Central America, and south into the South
American countries of Chile, Argentina, and
Uruguay.
ѧ Found in humid and hot climates, they occupy
rainforests and deserts. They roost in caves,
mines, tree hollows, and abandoned
buildings.
ѧ The common vampire bat thrives in
agricultural areas whereas the white-winged
vampire bat and the hairy-legged vampire bat
are primarily restricted to intact forests
Diet
ѧ Vampire bats feed on the blood of birds and
mammals
ѧ With the increase in livestock the common vampire
bat now mainly feeds on domestic animals, such as
cows, pigs, and horses. While the white-winged
vampire bat and the hairy-legged vampire bat still
only feed on birds, reptiles, and other forest animals.
ѧ The bat makes an incision in the skin with their
fangs and then laps the blood that flows from the
wound.
ѧ Each night, a vampire bat needs 20 grams of blood
and cannot go for more than two nights without
food.
Reproduction
ѧ Vampire bats are sexually mature at nine months of
age. Mating occurs year-round, and pregnant bats
roost together in a nursery group. Pregnancy lasts
205-214 days. Females give birth to a single pup.

ѧ Pups feed primarily on the mother’s milk for the first

month using specialized milk teeth. At two months of age,
the pups begin feeding on blood. At nine months the pup
is mature, males will leave the roost, and females stay
with their mother’s roost. Except for dominant males
who roost with the females.
ѧ Vampire bats live up to 9 years in the wild and up to 20
years in captivity.
Enemies
ѧ The Vampire Bat has several predators. This includes
eagles, owls, and hawks that can also be active at night.
They wait outside of cave entrances and attack Vampire
Bats that are either flying into or out of the cave.
ѧ Humans are also predators of the Vampire Bat. Many
farmers set traps for these bats. They don’t want their
pigs, cows, or horses to be bitten by them because they
spread diseases including rabies.
 Adaptations Acute sense of smell as well as
infrared heat sensors

Blood-channeling grooves in the

tongue and anticlotting agent
Extremely sharp incisor teeth (draculin) in saliva.

Well-developed
grasping thumbs that
help with climbing and
staying attached on
prey Gut contains protective bacteria
that produce anti-viral substances
Strong hind legs help to jump for and breaks down iron
vertical take-off and quick escapes
Scientific classification
ѧ Domain: Eukaryota
ѧ Kingdom: Animalia
ѧ Phylum: Chordata
ѧ Class: Mammalia
ѧ Order: Chiroptera
ѧ Family: Phyllostomidae
ѧ Genus:Desmodus
ѧ Species: D. rotundus
Relatives
ѧ Vampire bats are related to the New World leaf- Chiroptera
nosed bats through the Phyllostomidae family and
are sometimes classified with them as a subfamily
(Desmodontinae).
ѧ The New World false vampire bats are Phyllostomidae
phyllostomatids much larger than the sanguivorous (New World leaf-nosed bats)
bats.Although Vampyrum species are fierce in
appearance, their snouts and long canine teeth are
used to capture and eat small prey (not only their
blood). Various Old World false vampire bats are Desmodontinae
found in Africa, Asia, and Australia.

Vampyrum
Desmodus
(New World false
(Vampire bats)
vampire bats )
Fun facts
• During the time a vampire feeds on a prey animal, it can memorize the prey's
breathing sounds and use this information to find the same prey the following
night.
• Scientists have now turned the anticoagulant protein in the bat's saliva into a
drug that dissolves the blood clots that block blood supply to the brain. It
could be really helpful in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. It's called
Desmodus rotundus salivary plasminogen activator, or DSPA.
• When an individual bat in a group does not get enough food at night,
members of its group share their meals by regurgitating blood
Sources
• https://www.zooamerica.com/animals/common-vampire-bat/#:~:text=Habitat%3A,
tree%20hollows%2C%20and%20abandoned%20buildings
.
• https://www.britannica.com/animal/vampire-bat
• https://denverzoo.org/animals/vampire-bat/#:~:text=Vampire%20bats%20are%20s
exually%20mature,g)%3B%20twins%20are%2
• https://www.batworlds.com/vampire-bat/
• https://www.worldlandtrust.org/species/mammals/common-vampire-bat/#:~:text=
Its%20adaptations%20to%20drinking%20blood,brown%20down%20to%20darker%
20greys
• https://www.dailysabah.com/science/2018/02/20/vampire-bats-blood-diet-develo
ped-through-evolutionary-genetics
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_vampire_bat
• https://animaldiversity.org/
• https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7007-4-18#:~:text=The