Common Vampire Bat- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus) is a species of vampire bat. They have burnt amber colored fur on their backside while soft and velvety light brown fur covers their belly. They have large pointy ears and a flat leaf-shaped nose. Their babies use tiny thumbs in the middle of the wing to cling on the mother’s furry belly. The vampire bats have a wingspan of about eight inches and a body about the size of an adult's thumb.

Tiny thumbs large pointy ears babies flat leaf shaped nose

wingspan-8 inches body size of thumb

furry just hanging around

Notes

Feeding-If not for their diet, people would not pay much attention to these small bats. Vampire bats feed on the blood of large birds, cattle, horses, pigs, dogs and many other animals including humans. However, they don’t suck the blood directly from their "victims", they let it flow from the wound first before sucking or lapping it up. The Common Vampire is a highly evolved bat. The front teeth, lips and tongue are highly specialized, with the former used to trim the surrounding fur of the host, meaning acting like scissors.

Then a piece of skin is removed by the razor-sharp V-shaped front teeth, much like using a spoon to scoop ice cream out of a cup. During this process the animal's saliva, which contains an anticoagulant, is released and the resulting wound bleeds freely, enabling the vampire to feed, using its highly specialized lower lip and tongue. The grooves in the lower lip and underside of the tongue form a straw-like structure enabling the bat to suck up the blood rather than lap it.

sucking blood up with tongue

razor sharp teeth

Notes

Behavior-The Common Vampire is one of the few known bats capable of walking, jumping and hopping. This is accomplished by folding its wings in such a fashion that the animal literally walks on its thumbs.This behavior is important because it permits the bat to stealth fully maneuver on the ground and host. Vampires choose hard to get to places on the host, such as shoulders, underside of the tail and teats and soft tissue near the hoof to get to the unique spot.

Often they will return night after night to the same animal (particularly tethered farm animals), so they just have to lift the scab from previous visits to get more blood. It is speculated that before the introduction of domesticated animals, vampires fed upon a wide variety of animals including opossums, armadillos, raccoons, snakes, birds, monkeys, and so forth.

walking

 Desmodus rotundus -latin name  Common vampire bat -only one type of vampire bat  Burnt, amber fur on back and fluffy light brown fur on stomach  Big pointed ears and flat nose that looks like a leaf  Infants use small thumbs on their wing to hold onto their mom  Wingspan is 8 inches and they are the size of a thumb  Feed on blood of many animals including people  Don't suck blood they lick it up  It is highly evolved 1. Introductory information 2. Appearance 1 2

 teeth, lip and tongue act like scissors to cut fur around wound  scoop skin from wound like a spoon  their saliva is an anticoagulant to keep wound bleeding  the groove in lip and tongue help bat lick up blood  can walk, jump and hop  it can move on ground and animal it feeds on  they feed on hard to get at places like shoulders, and underside  they will feed over and over again on same animal by lifting scab  before domesticated animals, fed on large number of species 3. Interesting abilities and behaviours 4. Feeding habits 3 4

 Desmodus rotundus -latin name  Common vampire bat -only one type of vampire bat  Burnt, amber fur on back and fluffy light brown fur on stomach  Big pointed ears and flat nose that looks like a leaf  Infants use small thumbs on their wing to hold onto their mom  Wingspan is 8 inches and they are the size of a thumb  Feed on blood of many animals including people  Don't suck blood they lick it up  It is highly evolved 1. Introductory information 2. Appearance 1 2

 teeth, lip and tongue act like scissors to cut fur around wound  scoop skin from wound like a spoon  their saliva is an anticoagulant to keep wound bleeding  the groove in lip and tongue help bat lick up blood  can walk, jump and hop  it can move on ground and animal it feeds on  they feed on hard to get at places like shoulders, and underside  they will feed over and over again on same animal by lifting scab  before domesticated animals, fed on large number of species 3. Interesting abilities and behaviours 4. Feeding habits 3 4

Section 1- Introductory information (I would use this information as part of the introduction to my report) Topic sentence: The Common Vampire bat is really not so common and is quite an interesting and unique creature of the night. __3__ It is also referred to by its latin name, Desmodus rotundus. __1__ The common vampire bat is only one a large variety of vampire bats in the world. __2__ It is a highly evolved species. *sections- appearance, interesting abilities/behaviours, feeding habits (You need to make up sentences in your introduction to talk about the section headings in your report) Intro paragraph- Introductory information (I would use this information as part of the introduction to my report) Topic sentence: The Common Vampire bat is really not so common and is quite an interesting and unique creature of the night. __3__ It is also referred to by its latin name, Desmodus rotundus. __1__ The common vampire bat is only one a large variety of vampire bats in the world. __2__ It is a highly evolved species. *sections- appearance, interesting abilities/behaviours, feeding habits (You need to make up sentences in your introduction to talk about the section headings in your report)

The common vampire bat, is really not so common, and quite an interesting and unique creature of the night. It is only one out of a large variety of bats in the world and it is a highly evolved species in its own right. It is also referred to by its latin name, desmodus rotundus. In order to get a better understanding of the important features of this animal one needs to look at a variety of factors; one of which is their physical appearance*, which is quite fascinating on its own accord. In addition they have a multitude of interesting abilities and behaviours* that are very unique. Lastly, their feeding habits* are definitely worth taking a closer look at. As one can see, the vampire bat is quite a fascinating member of the animal kingdom. *I would include the sections I am going to talk about in my report in this introduction.

Paragraph 1- Appearance Topic sentence: In terms of size and appearance this little creature is not so scary as he sounds. __1__With its covering of burnt, amber fur on its back, and its cute, fluffy caramel coloured fur on its belly, it is actually quite cute. __2__Even its big, pointy ears, and leaf shaped nose are endearing qualities. __3__In size, this little cutie is miniscule, with a wingspan of only 8 inches and a body the size of a persons thumb. Conclusion sentence: Despite its frightening name, it is obvious that the common vampire bat is quite a charming, appealing little individual.

In terms of size and appearance, this little creature is not quite so scary as he sounds. With its covering of burnt, amber fur on its little back, and its cute, fluffy caramel coloured belly, it is actually quite cute, at least as far as bats go. Even its big, pointy ears and leaf shaped, flat little nose are endearing qualities. In size, this little cutie is miniscule, with a wingspan of only 8 inches, and a body the size of a persons’ thumb. Despite its frightening name, it is obvious that the common vampire bat is quite a charming, appealing little individual.

A s s i g n m e n tA s s i g n m e n t Pick one of the categories Make up a topic sentence. Make your notes into sentences. Organize sentences into logical order. Write a conclusion sentence. Write a rough copy of the paragraph. Double space it so you can edit. Write a good copy.

Paragraph 2- Interesting abilities and behaviours Topic sentence: One of the cool things about this bat is its wide variety of interesting abilities and behaviours. __3__Infant bats actually grab onto their mom’s wings using tiny thumbs located on their wings. __4__When feeding they use their teeth, lips and tongue like a tiny pair of scissors to cut away fur from the surface of the wound. __5__Their saliva, or spit, actually keeps wound bleeding on their victims because it acts like an anticoagulant, which is something that kept wounds from healing themselves by clotting. __1__They have the ability to do move in many ways other than flying; in fact they can walk, jump and hop. ­­­__2__It can also move on the ground and on the bodies of the animals it feeds on. Conclusion sentence- All of these fascinating abilities just add to the mystery and intrigue that surround this little animal.

One of the cool things about this bat is its wide variety of interesting abilities and behaviours. Firstly, they have the ability to move in many ways other than flying; in fact, they can walk, jump and hop. It can also move on the ground and on the bodies of the animals it feeds upon. When they are infants, the baby bats actually grab onto their mom’s wings using tiny thumbs located on their own wings. When they feed, they use their teeth, lips and tongue like a tiny pair of razor sharp scissors to cut away fur from the surface of the wound. Then their saliva, or spit, actually keeps the wound bleeding on their victims, because it acts as an anticoagulant, which is something that keeps the wounds from naturally healing themselves through clotting. All of these fascinating abilities just add to the mystery and intrigue that surround this little animal.

Paragraph 3- Feeding habits Topic sentence: This bats feeding habits are one of the most interesting characteristics about it. __1__They feed on the blood of many different kinds of animals, including humans. __3__Unlike what many people believe, they don’t actually suck the blood of their prey; they actually lap it up with their tongues. __5__In order to open the wound for feeding they scoop the skin away, using their teeth and tongue like a spoon. __6__The groove in their lip and tongue help them lick up the blood from the wound so they can feed. __4__When looking for a place to feed, the bat chooses hard to reach and unusual places, such as an animals shoulders or its underside or belly. __7__They actually will feed on the same animal over and over again if they can by picking away the scab left from the original wound. __2__Bats used to feed on a wide variety of wild animals, but nowadays they often feed on domesticated species like horses, or cows. Conclusion sentence-Overall, the eating patterns and techniques of this creature make it a rare curiosity in the world of animals.

This bats feeding habits are one of the most interesting characteristics about it. For example, they feed on the blood of many different kinds of animals, including humans, which is kind of scary. In fact, these bats used to feed on a large number of wild animals, but nowadays they often feed on domesticated species like horses or cows. Unlike what many people believe, however, they don’t actually suck the blood of their prey, they actually lap it up with their tongues. When they look for a place to feed on their victims, they choose hard to reach and unusual places, such as the shoulders or underside. When they get around to feeding their open up the wound by scooping the skin away, using their teeth and tongues like a spoon. The groove in their lip and tongue help them lick up the blood from the wound to feed. They will use this method on the same animal over and over again if they can, by picking away the scab left from the original wound. Overall, the eating patterns and techniques of this creature make it a rare curiosity in the world of animals.