VAMPIRE BAT— DITMARS AND GREENHALL 283 



Beginning with the earliest descriptions of the habits of the vam- 

 pire bat, allegations point to a blood-sucking creature. This is seen 

 in the writings of Aldrovandi, Shaw, Cuvier, Buffon, Geoffroy St. 

 Hilaire, Swainson, Gervais, Hensel, Goeldi, Quelch, and others. Re- 

 cent writers such as Gadow (1908), Duges (1911), and Herera (1911) 

 have indicated that the vampire applies its lips to the wound made 

 by specialized teeth, in order to pick up the ensuing flow of blood. 



Charles Darwin appears to have been the first scientist to observe 

 a vampire in the act of drawing blood and note its procedure with 

 satisfactory clarity. He secured a bat and definitely recorded the 

 sanguineous habits of Desmodus. Previous to this, several larger 

 species of bats had been under suspicion. Darwin's (1890) observa- 

 tion, however, did not change the belief that Desmodus was a blood- 

 sucking type. Nor could anj'thing to the contrary be found in com- 

 paratively recent writing until the publication of an article by Dr. 

 Dunn (1932) containing the following : 



The vampire does not suck blood, as popularly believed, but takes it up with 

 its tongue, seldom placing its mouth on the wound except when the latter is 

 first made or when the bleeding is very slow. If the wound bleeds freely, the 

 bat simply laps up the blood, hardly touching the tissues, while if the bleeding 

 is scant the bat licks the wound. 



Thus Dunn's observation, but a few years past, takes precedence, 

 as far as could be found, in rectifying a long procession of erroneous 

 inferences about the feeding habits of the vampire. 



In further elucidation is a letter from Dr. Clark, dated April 18, 

 1934, and reading in part : 



Our vampire does not suck the blood. It uses its tongue to collect the 

 blood, in a back and forth motion, rather than as a dog or cat laps up water 

 and milk. I have seen them feed from the edge of cuts on horses, but, of 

 course, never got close enough under these conditions to see the tongue in 

 action. Animal feedings offered the bats under laboratory conditions estab- 

 lish the fact that they lick the blood. 



As to the quadrupedal gait of the vampire, apparently the first 

 mention of it is in the works of the Rev, J. G. Wood (1869), who 

 states that vampires can walk, rather than grovel like other bats, 

 but the description is insufficient in indicating the habit. 



Dr. William Beebe (1925), in his book outlining experiences in 

 British Guiana, states: 



We ascertained, however, that there was no truth in the belief that they 

 (vampires) hovered or kept fanning with their wings * * *. Xow and then 

 a small body touched the sheet for an instant, then, with a soft little tap, 

 a vampire alighted on my chest. 



Slowly it crept forward, but I hardly felt the pushing of the feet and pulling 

 of the thumbs as it crawled along. If I had been asleep, I should not have 

 awakened. 



