Diphylla ecaudata Spix 1823
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Chiroptera
Phyllostomidae
Diphylla
Diphylla ecaudata

description: 17. Hairy-legged Vampire Bat <i>Diphylla ecaudata</i> <b>French:</b> Vampire a pattes velues / <b>German:</b> Kammzahnvampir / <b>Spanish:</b> Vampiro de patas peludas <b>Taxonomy.</b> Diphylla ecaudata Spix, 1823, “ Brasil.” Restricted by A. Cabrera in 1958 to Rio San Francisco, Bahia, Brazil. Two subspecies are recognized. <b>Subspecies and Distribution.</b> D.e.ecaudataSpix,1823—Colombia,NVenezuela,Ecuador,Peru,Brazil(exceptCAmazonBasin),andNBolivia. D. e. centralis Thomas, 1903 — from S Texas (USA) S through E Mexico and Central America to Panama. <b>Descriptive notes.</b> Head—body 65-93 mm (tailless), ear 14-19 mm, forearm 49-56 mm; weight 20-43 g. Subspecies are indistinguishable and separated by distribution. The Hairy-legged Vampire Bat is smaller than other species of vampire bats. Ears are wider, face is shorter, and eyes are larger. Tail membrane is reduced. Tibias, forearms, and reduced uropatagium are covered with abundant hair, which is longer and finer than on other species of the Desmodontinae subfamily. Dorsum is brown, and venteris a little paler. Noseleafis reduced to mere rounded bulge, and lower lip is cleft. Calcars are short but well formed, and thumbs are short, without metacarpal pads. Dental formula is12/2,G1/1,P 1/2, M 2/2 (x2) = 26. I, have four lobes, and distinctive I, are broad, fan-shaped, and seven-lobed. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 28 and FN = 52. <b>Habitat.</b> Tropical and subtropical forests. <b>Food and Feeding.</b> The Hairy-legged Vampire Bat prefers to feed on avian blood and rarely feeds on mammalian blood. Its short, stout calcar aids in arboreal locomotion. It makes wounds mostly on legs or in cloacal region. In captivity, it is altruistic, sharing food by regurgitation similar to that of the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus). <b>Breeding.</b> A pregnant Hairy-legged Vampire Bat with one embryo was found in September in Bolivia, and juveniles and subadults can be found in October. Breeding season might be well defined in parts of its distribution, but apparently it has two birth periods not related to seasonality, with reports of pregnant females giving birth to single offspring in February-March, July, and September—October. <b>Activity patterns.</b> The Hairy-legged Vampire Bat is nocturnal and seeks food in the darkest period of the night, depending on environmental factors such as moonlight, rain, and strong winds. <b>Movements, Home range and Social organization.</b> Although Hairy-legged Vampire Bats form colonies of up to 70 individuals, they are not gregarious and usually occur in groups of 3-4 individuals. They occur in caves or crevices and very rarely in holes of trees; roosts can be shared with other species of bats including other species of vampire bats. <b>Status and Conservation.</b> Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. <b>Bibliography.</b> Baker (1973), Baker et al. (1988), Bredt et al. (1999), Burt &amp; Stirton (1961), Dalquest (1955), Greenhall et al. (1984), Hall (1981), Kwon &amp; Gardner (2008), Sampaio et al. (2016a), Scheffer et al. (2015), Siles et al. (2003), Teran &amp; Aguirre (2007b), Wilson (1979).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson &amp; Russell A. Mittermeier, 2019, Phyllostomidae, pp. 444-583 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 9 Bats, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on pages 496-497, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6458594