vampire bat

vampire bat
vampire bat n any of several Central and So. American bats (Desmodus rotundus, Diaemus youngi, and Diphylla ecaudata) that feed on the blood of birds and mammals and esp. domestic animals and that are sometimes vectors of disease and esp. of rabies also any of several other bats that do not feed on blood but are sometimes reputed to do so

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a member of genera Desmodus, Diaemus, or Diphylla, found in tropical parts of the Americas, which subsist on the blood of warm-blooded animals. Some are reservoirs of rabies virus while others are reservoirs of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Vampire bat — Vampire Vam pire, n. [F. vampire (cf. It. vampiro, G. & D. vampir), fr. Servian vampir.] [Written also {vampyre}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A blood sucking ghost; a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and wander about… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • vampire bat — vampire bats N COUNT A vampire bat is a bat from South America which feeds by sucking the blood of other animals …   English dictionary

  • vampire bat — n a South American ↑bat that sucks the blood of other animals …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • vampire bat — n. 1. any of a family (Desmodontidae) of tropical American bats that live on vertebrate blood, esp. of stock animals, and sometimes transmit rabies and a trypanosome disease of horses 2. any of various other bats mistakenly believed to feed on… …   English World dictionary

  • Vampire bat — For the 1933 movie, see The Vampire Bat. Vampire bats Common Vampire Bat, Desmodus rotundus Scientific classification Kingdom …   Wikipedia

  • vampire bat — 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… …   Universalium

  • vampire bat — noun any of various tropical American bats of the family Desmodontidae that bite mammals and birds to feed on their blood • Syn: ↑true vampire bat • Hypernyms: ↑carnivorous bat, ↑microbat • Hyponyms: ↑Desmodus rotundus, ↑hairy le …   Useful english dictionary

  • vampire bat — paprastasis vampyras statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Desmodus rotundus angl. blood sucking bat; common vampire bat; South American vampire bat; true vampire; vampire; vampire bat vok. echter Vampir;… …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • vampire bat — noun A small flying mammal (bat) of South America which uses its teeth to nick larger animals while they are asleep, allowing it to surreptitiously lap a blood meal. Syn …   Wiktionary

  • vampire bat — vam′pire bat n. 1) mam any small New World tropical bat of the family Desmodontidae, having specialized front teeth for cutting into the skin and drawing blood from resting animals 2) mam any of several other bats, esp. those of the family… …   From formal English to slang

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