Desmodus rotundus
Vampire bats live up to nine years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. Vampire bats are very social. They live in colonies consisting of 100 bats but some live in colonies of 2000. They are nocturnal being the most active at night and they sleep during the day hanging upside-down. They have very strong social bonds with other bats in the colony. They spend hours grooming themselves or other bats. Social grooming normally takes place between closely related females or females and their offspring. If a bat does not find a blood meal it will beg for blood from another bat. Bats will reciprocate by offering a blood meal in return at another time.
Male bats will roost amongst females and will fight other males to maintain their territory. The male will often bite, gesture or hit another wondering male with his wings. It is unknown if there is a dominance hierarchy among bats in the wild, although young bats will often submit to older bats by lifting a folded wing while bending its body. Vampire bats can communicate with other members of the colony by emitting high frequency sounds that are not audible to humans.
Vampire bats have many adaptations specialized to their diet of blood. Their incisors, front teeth, are used to make a shallow cut in the skin of a victim. The prominent canines are used more often in squabbles between bats. Small teeth behind the canines are used to shave hair or feathers from potential bite sites. They have the fewest teeth of all bats. Their tongue has grooves on each side to facilitate lapping of blood. The walls of their stomach are thin and capable of expanding to take a large capacity of blood. Their stomachs also have increased capillaries to increase the absorption rate.
A drug has been developed from the research on their saliva called "draculin" which is used on heart patients.
Vampire bats live up to nine years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. Vampire bats are very social. They live in colonies consisting of 100 bats but some live in colonies of 2000. They are nocturnal being the most active at night and they sleep during the day hanging upside-down. They have very strong social bonds with other bats in the colony. They spend hours grooming themselves or other bats. Social grooming normally takes place between closely related females or females and their offspring. If a bat does not find a blood meal it will beg for blood from another bat. Bats will reciprocate by offering a blood meal in return at another time.
Male bats will roost amongst females and will fight other males to maintain their territory. The male will often bite, gesture or hit another wondering male with his wings. It is unknown if there is a dominance hierarchy among bats in the wild, although young bats will often submit to older bats by lifting a folded wing while bending its body. Vampire bats can communicate with other members of the colony by emitting high frequency sounds that are not audible to humans.
Vampire bats have many adaptations specialized to their diet of blood. Their incisors, front teeth, are used to make a shallow cut in the skin of a victim. The prominent canines are used more often in squabbles between bats. Small teeth behind the canines are used to shave hair or feathers from potential bite sites. They have the fewest teeth of all bats. Their tongue has grooves on each side to facilitate lapping of blood. The walls of their stomach are thin and capable of expanding to take a large capacity of blood. Their stomachs also have increased capillaries to increase the absorption rate.
A drug has been developed from the research on their saliva called "draculin" which is used on heart patients.
