vampire bat

American  

noun

1. any of several New World tropical bats of the genera Desmodus, Diphylla, and Diaemus, the size of a small mouse, feeding on small amounts of blood obtained from resting mammals and birds by means of a shallow cut made with specialized incisor teeth.

2. any of several large South American bats of the genera Phyllostomus and Vampyrus, erroneously believed to feed on blood.

3. false vampire.

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vampire bat British  

noun

1. any bat, esp Desmodus rotundus, of the family Desmodontidae of tropical regions of Central and South America, having sharp incisor and canine teeth and feeding on the blood of birds and mammals Compare false vampire

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Etymology

Origin of vampire bat

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

An anticoagulant in vampire bat saliva keeps the blood flowing as the bat laps up a meal.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

On 29th August 2019, Lilith, a vampire bat housed in the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, died, leaving behind a pup.

From Salon • Aug. 28, 2022

The vampire bat brain may have also benefitted from a fortuitous gene loss.

From Scientific American • Mar. 25, 2022

Ripperger recently helped develop a sensor to monitor social behavior in bats, and after talking to Carter, he realized the vampire bat was the perfect species to test the new technology on.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 22, 2021

Otto recalled a similar cry from the mailman, Mr. Reynolds, when Dr. Medina’s hospital lost track of its one and only vampire bat and it bit him on the neck.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles