White-winged Vampire Bat

White-winged Vampire Bat
Diaemus youngi
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Chiroptera
Family:	Phyllostomidae
Subfamily:	Desmodontinae
Genus:	Diaemus Miller, 1906
Species:	D. youngi
Binomial name
Diaemus youngi Jentink, 1893

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 Isla 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. Not surprisingly, they do not perform the flight-initiating jumps that characterize the common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus. And 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]

This bat has been found to carry rabies in Trinidad.^[4]

Footnotes

1. ^ A.M. Greenhall and U. Schmidt, editors. 1988. Natural History of Vampire Bats, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. ISBN 0849367506; ISBN 978-0849367502, p. 122
2. ^ Greenhall, Arthur M. 1961. Bats in Agriculture. A Ministry of Agriculture Publication. Trinidad and Tobago, p. 10.
3. ^ A.M. Greenhall and U. Schmidt, editors. 1988. Natural History of Vampire Bats, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. ISBN 0849367506; ISBN 978-0849367502, p. 125.
4. ^ Greenhall (1961), p. 10.

References

• Carter G, B Fenton, P Faure. 2009. "White-winged vampire bats exchange contact calls." Canadian Journal of Zoology. 87, 604-608. doi: 10.1139/Z09-051. PDF
• Carter G, M Skowronski, P Faure, B Fenton. 2008. "Antiphonal calling allows individual discrimination in white-winged vampire bats." Animal Behaviour. 76, 1343-1355 doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.04.023. PDF
• Greenhall, Arthur M. 1961. Bats in Agriculture. A Ministry of Agriculture Publication. Trinidad and Tobago.
• A.M. Greenhall and U. Schmidt, editors. 1988. Natural History of Vampire Bats, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. ISBN 0849367506; ISBN 978-0849367502
• "Diaemus youngi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2008. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/6520. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
• Mammalian Species Account

External links

• Vampires: The Real Story - about the vampire bat.
• Bat Conservation International - A website devoted to the education, conservation and study of bats.
• Graduate student research on white-winged vampire bats