Vampire bats
| Vampire bat | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Phyllostomidae |
| Subfamily: |
Desmodontinae Bonaparte, 1845 |
| Species | |
Desmodus rotundus
Diphylla ecaudata
Diaemus youngi
Vampire bats are bats whose food source is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy. Three 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). All three species are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico to Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina.
Due to differences among the three species, each has been placed within a different genus, each consisting of one species. In the older literature, these three genera were placed within a family of their own, Desmodontidae, but taxonomists have now grouped them as a subfamily, the Desmodontinae, in the leaf-nosed bat family, Phyllostomidae.
The three known species of vampire bats all seem more similar to one another than to any other species. That suggests that sanguivorous habits (feeding on blood) evolved only once, and the three species share a common ancestor.
Vampire bats are in a diverse family of bats with many food sources, including nectar, pollen, insects, fruit, fish, and meat. The three species of vampire bats are the only mammals that have evolved to feed exclusively on blood. Hematophagy is likely uncommon due to the number of challenges to overcome for success: a large volume of liquid potentially overwhelming the kidneys and bladder, the risk of iron poisoning, and coping with excess protein. There are multiple hypotheses for how vampire bats evolved.
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Wikipedia