Vampire Bats17:43 Jul 19 2007
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I feel that science, and nature have a place here at VR. Therefore, this is being shown by Me here in My journal, also its a public page at our Coven, and I'll be adding more information about other interesting animals at our Coven. I hope that you've enjoyed it. Please visit our Coven and see all the fun, fantastic things we have to offer.
Science currently recognizes only three living species of vampire bat: the common vampire bat, the white-winged vampire bat and the hairy-legged vampire bat. All three species are found in South America and/or Central America. There are no recognized species of vampire bat in the Old World, despite that the uninformed will sometimes be convinced that European vampire legends are based on European vampire bats.
Today's vampire bats are quite tiny; they can easily be enclosed in a person's hand, with wingspans that do not exceed 8 inches. Blood is not a very nourishing diet, so it is difficult for a blood-drinking lifestyle to sustain a large creature. But these small vampire bats once had a larger cousin, who is thought to be extinct. Named the giant vampire bat or Desmodus draculae, this creature inhabited Venezuela and Brazil in South America during the Pleistocene. Its wingspan has been reconstructed as being about 17 inches when it was alive. It would have needed to drink a lot of blood to stay alive.
But perhaps it, or a related species, is still alive today. Reports from cattlemen in southeastern Brazil describe a large blood-drinking bat that sounds like the presumably extinct giant vampire bat. Reported sizes cover a range, up to a wingspan of 3 feet, 3 inches. Cryptozoologists have so far failed to find any living examples of the giant vampire bat, but there is still much hope.
Bats are some of the hardest animals in the world to locate, and therefore even mainstream scientists believe that many new species await discovery. Furthermore, South America is still a hot spot for new animal discoveries, so the idea that another mammal awaits discovery is South America is not very controversial. Cryptozoological assertions tend to be more controversial when they involve places that are better explored and large, spectacular species that ought to be quite obvious among the local fauna, but when these assertions involve tropical rainforests and ordinary animals, the mainstream scientists tend to get on board much more easily.
Compliments of: http://www.newanimal.org
Above is an article that I recently viewed on the web. I've always been interested in these animals. Everytime I see something new about them, especially the "Giants," believed to be extinct by some, I jump at the oportunity.
Scientist know that they existed through findings, and have even been able to reconstruct them fully. They were much like the smaller species today, other than they required a much larger food supply. Through other views, of shows, and articles, I've been able to determine that no one has established a beggining for this type of bat. Several theories have been braught up, however, because of lack of evidence, no one has been conclusive with any findings.
The vampire bat was braught into the story of Drucula during modern times. Vampire bats live only in South America, where they originated. Although, its a big world, and there may be other species to be discovered, no proof of a blood feeding bat has been found on any other continent.
The three species are quite different from each other, and are therefore placed within different genera (no other species are currently classified in any of the three genera concerned). But they are related. In older literature, the three genera are placed within a family, Desmodontidae, but this is now regarded as unhelpful, as it hides the similarities the vampire bats have with other members of the American leaf-nosed bat family, Phyllostomidae.
They are therefore now grouped as a subfamily, the Desmodontinae within the Phyllostomidae. The fact that the three known species of vampire bat all seem more similar to one another than to any other species suggests that sanguivorous habits (feeding on blood) only evolved once, and that all three species share a common ancestor.
What interests Me the most about this animal is the way that it feeds. Its a stalker, seeking out its food source, and crawling up on it very instinctively to avoid disturbing the animal as it slumbers. It then will feed, usually, on a lower portion of the body, usually the leg. Some, will crawl to higher positions on the animal if there are numerous feeders on one source. This is only concerning the bat that most hear about, Desmodus rotundus . And is the one of the three species that is most commonly seen in zoo's around the world.
Above is a photo of the “Common Vampire Bat, (Desmodus rotundus).”
Above is a photo of “Hairy-legged Vampire Bat (Diphylla ecaudata).”
The Hairy-legged Vampire Bat (Diphylla ecaudata) is one of three species of vampire bat. Despite connotations of vampires, it mainly feeds on the blood of birds. This vampire bat lives mainly in tropical and subtropical forestlands of South America. It is the sole member of the genus Diphylla.
It generally rests during the daylight with less than twelve other bats in a cave, although a cave was once found with 35 bats. It also shares its food.[citation needed] It also has good sight, but poor echolocation.[citation needed] It is often found in caves with the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus), but it is a solitary bat and does not form groups like Desmodus. There are no lingual grooves under the tongue as in Desmodus and Diaemus but it does have a groove along the roof of the mouth which may serve as a "blood gutter".[1]
Above is a photo of, “White-winged Vampire Bat (Diaemus youngi).”
The White-winged Vampire Bat (Diaemus youngi) is a species of vampire bat. It is the only member of the genus Diaemus. It is found from Mexico to southern Argentina and is present on the islands of Trinidad and Margarita. In Trinidad up to 30 Diaemus were found in a hollow immortelle tree and one was found in a well-lit cave along with Desmodus rotundus and Saccopteryx bilineata. Flying individuals are easily identified by their white wing tips.[1]
They seem to prefer the blood of birds to that of mammals and usually feed by hanging on the underside of a branch. Although not as agile on the ground as the common vampire bat, they are quite proficient at climbing branches. White-winged vampires are much more docile than common vampire bats and are also extremely vocal in the audible range.
They have two large oral glands:
". . . which can only be seen when the bat's mouth is opened and the glands brought forward like two small cannons. With open mouth, the bat will suddenly make an explosive, hissing sound followed by a foul smelling odour which seems to come from these glands. The use of the glands is not known." [2]
"The bat opens its mouth when disturbed, bringing to the corners of its mouth two cup-shaped glands, each 2 to 3 mm in diameter, nearly filling the mouth. When necessary the glands can be directed forward, and with a noisy "psst" may emit a fine jet of liquid which has a powerful mustelid, skunk-like odor offensive to many people. Extractions tests made in Trinidad indicated the presence of several common amino acids and an unidentified sulphur-containing compound."[3]
Credit for the information and pictures found in this article is given to, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://www.newanimal.org , http://www.sacbee.com , and http://www.enature.com .
This information was not allowed into the member articles, because the information was taken from scientific sources and prepared well. I do understand that member articles are for the members to write their own articles. However, I also feel that science, and nature have a place here at VR as well. Therefore, it's being shown by Me here in My journal, also its a public page at our Coven. I hope that you've enjoyed it. Please visit our Coven and see all the other interesting things we have to offer.
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