| false vampire bat | |
noun | |
| any New or Old World carnivorous bat erroneously thought to suck blood but in fact feeding on insects [syn: false vampire] |
false vampire bat
any of certain bats of the Old World genera Megaderma, Cardioderma, and Macroderma (family Megadermatidae) and the New World genera Vampyrum and Chrotopterus (family Phyllostomatidae), conspicuous because of their large size and originally thought to feed on blood, as do the true vampire bats. The false vampires are now known to be carnivorous, preying mainly on small vertebrates such as other bats, lizards, and mice.
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