Report of the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) preying upon capybara (Hydrocho*rus hydrochaeris) (2024)

FAQs

What is the common vampire bat special adaptation? ›

Its adaptations to drinking blood include not just extremely sharp incisor teeth, but heat sensors on its nose, as well as strong hind legs and thumbs that help the bat climb around on its prey and take off after feeding. The fur of the vampire bat varies in colour, through golden or reddish brown down to darker greys.

This nocturnal, flying mammal feeds exclusively on the blood of other animals. To eat the blood, the vampire bat is equipped with sharp incisor teeth that are used to nip a small piece of flesh. An anticoagulant in the vampire bat's saliva allows the blood to flow continually instead of clotting.

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).

Vampire bats are sanguivores, organisms that feed upon the blood of other animals. They are the only mammals that feed exclusively on blood. Despite horror-movie depictions, vampire bats very rarely bite humans to feed on their blood.

By losing some genes, the vampire bats were able to adapt to their blood-thirsty lifestyle. For instance, vampire bats lost three genes relating to sweet and bitter taste receptors. As the term suggests, taste receptors help distinguish between foods based on their taste.

What are vampire bats? Bats are the only mammals that can fly, but vampire bats have an even more interesting distinction—they are the only mammals that feed entirely on blood.

Even though bat bites don't hurt, vampire bats can spread a disease called rabies.

Common vampire bats (Desmondus rotundus) are found in Central and South America, and feed exclusively on mammalian blood [1,2]. They preferentially feed on livestock animals such as cattle [3] and produce venom components that disrupt the blood coagulation cascade, enabling a constant blood flow for feeding [4,5,6,7].

Vampire bats live up to nine years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity.

Bats also help distribute the seeds of these important plants, so they can reproduce and create more fruit for us humans to eat and enjoy. Without pollinating and seed-dispersing bats, many ecosystems would gradually die. Plants would fail to provide food and cover for wildlife species near the base of the food chain.

Do vampire bats fly? ›

Bats are already unique creatures because they're the only mammals that can fly. But unlike other species of bats, vampire bats can also run, walk, and hop on all fours.

Residing in Central and South America, these are also the only bats who consume blood — and only blood — for food and water.

Vampire bats live up to their name as they suck blood from mammals, including humans. They won't drain you like Dracula, but can still kill you through infections. One of the things they can infect you with is human rabies, a virus that kills 55,000 people every year.

In modern times, the vampire is generally held to be a fictitious entity, although belief in similar vampiric creatures (such as the chupacabra) still persists in some cultures.

As vampire bats are often especially feared, I think it's worth mentioning that they are specifically very lovely bats. They cuddle for warmth and groom their mates (grooming can reduce stress, lower heat rates, and promote comradery).

Special Skeleton

Bats have very light bones, which makes them lighter when flying through the air. There is webbing that connects their long bones, which are a lot like long fingers. Not only does this webbing allow for easy flight, but it enables bats to wrap themselves up when sleeping during the day.

The bat star has eyespots at the end of each arm that can detect light and uses sensors on its tube feet to “smell” prey. When a bat star finds a food item, it extends one of its two stomachs (the cardiac stomach) outside of its mouth cavity. The bat star then uses digestive enzymes to begin breaking down its prey.

Vampire bats are remarkably well-adapted to the rain forest. They come out at night and use heat sensors to find a goat, child or other mammal, which they feed upon only after determining from its breathing that it is truly asleep. If the prey is an animal with fur, vampire bats use special teeth to shave the skin.

The reasoning for the name is simple; these particular bats feed on blood – as did the mythical Vampire, which was popular in early modern European folklore at that time.