THE VAMPIRE 



(Desmodus rufus) 



OF all the numerous tribes of small Bats, mostly insectivorous in habits, 

 the South American Vampire has the greatest notoriety, owing to its 

 ghoulish habit of living on blood sucked from other animals. For many 

 years, however, it was known that there were blood-sucking Bats in 

 the warm regions of America before the habit was definitely brought 

 home by Darwin to Desmodus ruftts; and many innocent Bats had the 

 injurious suspicion fixed upon them, notably fampyrus spectrum, a 

 big ugly Bat about two feet across the wings, which is now known to 

 be a fruit-eater, like the Flying-Foxes of the Old World. The true 

 Vampire is a quite ordinary-looking Bat as far as outward appearances 

 go, as the illustration shows ; all that is noticeable is that it agrees 

 with the Oriental Fruit-Bats, and differs from most Microchiroptera 

 in having the membrane between the hind-legs little developed, and 

 being almost tailless. 



Its teeth, however, are very remarkable, and show its complete 

 adaptation for a blood-sucking existence. The incisors, which are 

 usually small in Bats, are in the Vampire very large and sharp, and 

 the molars, which in insectivorous Bats are studded with sharp points 

 for crushing their prey, are in the Vampire small and few, being 

 practically of no importance to an animal whose food is liquid. More- 

 over, the stomach of the Vampire is much elongated, like a caecum or 

 blind-gut, so that it can contain a large quantity of blood to be digested 

 at leisure. 



The sharpness of the incisors enables the Vampire to shave off, as 

 it were, a small portion of the skin of its victim, and thus wound 

 a number of capillary blood-vessels without giving pain, while causing 

 a free flow of blood. Thus the victim, if asleep, is not awakened, 

 and a case has even been reported in which a Vampire was found 



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