The White-winged Vampire Bat (Diaemus youngi) is a species of vampire bat

Vampire bat

Vampire bats are bats whose food source is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy. There are three bat species that feed solely on blood: the Common Vampire Bat , the Hairy-legged Vampire Bat , and the White-winged Vampire Bat .All three species are native to the Americas, ranging from Mexico to...

. It is the only member of the genus Diaemus. It is found from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to southern Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and is present on the islands of Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

 and Isla Margarita

Isla Margarita

Margarita Island is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands: Coche and Cubagua. The capital city of Nueva Esparta is La Asunción, located in a river...

. 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.

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

Common Vampire Bat

The Common Vampire Bat is a small leaf-nosed bat native to the Americas. It is one of three extant species of vampire bat, the other two being the Hairy-legged Vampire Bat and the White-winged Vampire Bat. Along with them, it is the only parasitic mammal. It mainly feeds on the blood of livestock...

, 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."

"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."

This bat has been found to carry rabies

Rabies

Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...

in Trinidad.

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