vampire bat

== English == === Pronunciation === === Noun === vampire bat (plural vampire bats) Any of the three small bats of the subfamily Desmodontinae, native to Central and South America, which use their teeth to cut the skin of larger animals while they are asleep and surreptitiously drink blood, their sole source of food. ==== Synonyms ==== vampire ==== Hyponyms ==== common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus white-winged vampire bat, Diaemus youngi hairy-legged vampire bat, Diphylla ecaudata ==== Derived terms ==== false vampire bat Linnaeus's false vampire bat (Vampyrum spectrum) spectral vampire bat (Vampyrum spectrum) white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi) ==== Translations ====