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Natural History of the Vampire Bats of Eastern Mexico Author(S): Walter W

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Natural History of the Vampire Bats of Eastern Mexico Author(S): Walter W The University of Notre Dame Natural History of the Vampire Bats of Eastern Mexico Author(s): Walter W. Dalquest Source: American Midland Naturalist, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Jan., 1955), pp. 79-87 Published by: The University of Notre Dame Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2422300 . Accessed: 06/08/2014 18:25 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The University of Notre Dame is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Midland Naturalist. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 158.135.136.72 on Wed, 6 Aug 2014 18:25:53 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions NaturalHistory of the Vampire Bats of EasternMexico WalterW. Dalquest MidwesternUniversity, Wichita Falls, Texas Vampirebats of two speciesrange throughout eastern Mexico from the southernlimits of the republicnorthward to approximately175 milesfrom the United Statesboundary. The commonvampire, Desmodus rotundus murinusWagner, is a commonto abundantbat almostwherever it is found. The hairy-leggedvampire, Diphylla ecaudata centralis Thomas, is one of the rarerNorth American bats but seemsto reachits maximumabundance in easternMexico. Thesedisgusting but nevertheless interesting mammals do greatdamage to livestockand attackhuman beings on occasions.Domestic animals are weak- enedand sometimes die fromloss of bloodfrom the wounds inflicted by vam- pires,while the open wound's are a commonsite of infectionby bacteriaand parasiticinsect larvae such as screwworms. Vampires are potential vectors of diseasealso. Theyare knownto transmitrabies and somecattle diseases in Panama,Trinidad, and SouthAmerica, and suchcommunicable diseases as thehoof-and-mouth disease might easily be spreadby vampires. In theBritish WestIndies an intensivecampaign has beencarried out in an effortto ridthe islandof Trinidadof theseda-igerous animals; The writeris convincedthat a similarcampaign must soon be undertakenin Mexico. The followingreport, whichmay assist in sucha campaign,is basedon severalyears of fieldwork in easternMexico, during which period approximately ten thousandvampires wereexamined. In theuninhabited jungles of extremesouthern Veracruz I foundno vam- pires,although conditions, except for the absence of domesticanimals, seemed to be idealfor these bats. Alongthe Rio Coatzacoalcos,at thenorthern edge ofthe uninhabited area, where people, horses, cattle and burros are again found, vampiresagain were encountered. Large game animals are abundantin the uninhabitedarea, but none of themany specimens taken showed evidence of vampirepredation. Probablyvampires were rare to uncommonin easternMexico in prehistoric times,but the arrivalof domesticanimals accompanying the conquest of the countryby Europeanspresented the existingvampires with a constantlyin- creasingfood supply in therelatively helpless burros, horses, and cattle. The commonvampire breeds throughout the year, is extremelyshy, is probablysafe frommost predators in the caves,it inhabits,is remarkablyhardy, and has nowincreased in numbersuntil it is oneof the commonest and most widespread mammalsin easternMexico. It is adaptableenough to live in hollowtrees and thestructures of man and to live on the ariddeserts as wellas in the tropics.It is principally,perhaps almost entirely, dependent on domesticani- malsfor food at thepresent time and may even attack man. Recognitionof vampirebats.-Vampires are largebats, measuring two to threeinches from the tip of thenose to therump. The forearmbone of the wingmeaswres two to twoand one-halfinches. Vampireslack external tails 79 This content downloaded from 158.135.136.72 on Wed, 6 Aug 2014 18:25:53 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 80 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 53 (1) butthere is a narrow,tail-like strip of membrane,the uropatagium, along the posterioredges of the legs and rump. The teethof vampires differ from those of all otherNorth American bats in thatthe anterior ends of thejaws possess large,flat, scoop-like canines and incisorsthat are in contactanteriorly, and thecutting edges of theanterior teeth in eachjaw forma "V." The jawsof otherbats contain large, pointed, canine teeth which are round in crosssection and are neverin contact;and usuallythere are severalsmall, peglike, incisors separatingthe canines. Vampires have no noseleafsbut do havenaked pads at the ends of theirtruncated snouts which contain distinct, "U-shaped" grooves.The earsof bothspecies are small and do notextend past the nose whenlaid forward.Vampires are of uniformbody color. The commonvampire differs from the hairy-leggedvampire in being larger,having shorter, coarser fur and in beirngreddish brown or rustyin color ratherthan dusky gray. The mostprominent difference between the two speciesis foundin thethumb. The thumbof thecommon vampire is more thanone-half of an inchlong and has a distinct,fleshy pad on theventral side,midway 'between the base of thethumnb, and thebase of theclaw. The thumbof thehairy-legged vampire is onlyabout a quarterinch in lengthand lacksthe median pad. The hairy-leggedvampire gets its name from the fur thatfringes the uropatagium, along the inner sides of thelegs. The uropata- giumof the common vampire is almostnaked. Severalspecies of fruit-eatingbats, especially of thegenus Artibeus, resem- blevampires in sizeand also lacktails. In additionto possessingfacial stripes andteeth of a differenttype, all fruitbats that might be mistakenfor vampires haveprominent, erect, noseleafs. Because fruit-eating 'bats so oftenoccur with vampires,and are so,often mistaken for them, it shouldbe stressedthat any batwith a noseleafis nota vampire! Handlinglive vampires.-Livevampires should be handledwith extreme care,for they move swiftly and biteviciously, leaving wounds that are large andpainful and which heal slowly, even when disinfected immediately. Heavy gloveswould probably protect the hands but are clumsyto workwith. After somepainful experimentation thefollowing method of handlingthe bats was developed.The bat is pinnedflat with a quickslap of thepalm, care being takennot to coverits head. The batshave such short necks that they can not turntheir heads upwards or to the sidesat rightangles. Keepingthe bat presseddown, a largeflap of skinat thebase of the neck, between the an;terior edgesof thewings, is pinchedtightly between thumb and forefinger.A bat so heldis completelyhelpless and canbe examinedor moved as desired.Vam- piresseized around the neck are unableto 'bite but can scratchunpleasantly andflap their wings. Mos'tmammal collectors kill live bats by placingtheir index finger against a bat'sback, thumb on its chest,and asphixiatingthe animal by squeezitng. Thismethod is notrecommended for vampires. They are so tenaciousof life thatthey can surviveseveral minutes of hard squeezing,time enough to exhaustthe muscles of thefingers; and apparentlydead animalsthat had been so treatedoften recovered. Fruit-eating bats of equalsize or largerwere quick- ly killedby pressures that seemed to havelittle effect on vampires. Vampiresdisplay similar toughness when shot. A chargeof shotsufficient to killlarge fruit bats almost instantly did notkill vampires unless they were This content downloaded from 158.135.136.72 on Wed, 6 Aug 2014 18:25:53 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 1955 DALQUEST: VAMPIRE BATS OF EASTERN MEXICO 81 actuallystruck in the heartsor heads. A shot into a clusterof fruit-eating bats usuallybrought down numerousdead and dyingbats, and fewwounded bats werestrong enough even to tryto escape. A similarshot into a clusterof vampiresusually brought down more wounded than dead bats and, unlessthey wereseriously wounded or dead, the vampiresflew or scamperedoff along the ground. On some occasionsa shot into a dense clusterof vampireswould bringdown a dozen or moreindividuals but everyanimal would hop, scurry, or flyaway and escape. Distribution.-Vampirebats rangefrom South Americanorthward through CentralAmerica and Mexico. The northernmostrecord of occurrencein east- ernMexico is in thecoastal lowlands near Victoria, Tamaulipas (Baker, 1951). This localityis only 175 milesfrom the United States boundary. The north- ernmostrecord on the Mexican Plateau is near Presa die Guadalupe, in the stateof San Luis Potosi. Doubtlessthe bats rangeeven farther north. Withintheir range in easternMexico vampiresare amongthe mostadapt- able of mammals. They are foundin the steamingjungles oif the easternside of the Isthmusof Tehuantepec,Veracruz; near sea levelon thearid and coastal plain of easternVeracruz; up to 6500 feet elevationin the mountainsnear Atotonilcoel Grande,Hidalgo; in the brushand mesquitplains near Victoria, Tamaulipas; and far out on the cactus-and-yuccacovered desert near Presa de Guadalupe, San Luis Potosi. Vampires seem to have occupied the range wherethey are now foundfor a long time,for Cushing (1945) reportedthe remainsof a vampirefrom a fossildeposit in -southern Nuevo Leon, associated withthe bones of the sabertoothtiger and otherPleistocene mammals. This localityis near the northernlimit of the rangeof the speciesat presentand is also
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