Desmodus rotundus
| Common vampire bat | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Phyllostomidae |
| Subfamily: | Desmodontinae |
| Genus: | Desmodus |
| Species: | D. rotundus |
| Binomial name | |
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Desmodus rotundus Geoffroy, 1810 |
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| Range map | |
The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) is a small, leaf-nosed bat native to the Americas. It is one of three extant species of vampire bat, the other two being the hairy-legged and the white-winged vampire bats. The common vampire bat mainly feeds on the blood of , approaching its prey at night while they are sleeping. It uses its razor-sharp teeth to cut open the skin of its hosts and laps up their blood with its long tongue.
The species is highly polygynous, and dominant adult males defend groups of females. It is one of the most social of bat species with a number of cooperative behaviors such as social grooming and food sharing. Because it feeds on livestock and is a carrier of rabies, the common vampire bat is considered a pest. Its conservation status is categorized as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because of "its wide distribution, presumed large population tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, and because it is unlikely to be declining at nearly the rate required to qualify for listing in a threatened category."
The common vampire bat was first classified as Phyllostoma rotundum by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1810. The species received several scientific names before being given its current one—Desmodus rotundus—by Oldfield Thomas in 1901. It is classified under the subfamily Desmodontinae along with two other species: the hairy-legged vampire bat (Diphylla ecaudata), and the white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi). These three species compose the "true" vampire bats, as opposed to the "false" vampires of the family Megadermatidae and the spectral bat. All three species of Desmodontinae specialize in feeding on the blood of warm-blooded animals. However, the common vampire bat feeds on mammalian blood more than the other two species, which primarily feed on that of birds. The three species resemble each other, but the common vampire bat can be distinguished by its longer thumb. It is the only extant member of its genus, although other fossil species have been described.
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