vampire bat

vampire bat   n.   Any of various tropical American bats of the family Desmodontidae that bite mammals and birds to feed on their blood and that often carry diseases such as rabies. Any of various other bats, as those of the family Megadermatidae, erroneously believed to feed on blood.

Main Entry: vampire bat
Function: noun
: any of several Central and So. American bats (Desmodus rotundus, Diaemus youngi, and Diphylla ecaudata) that feedon the blood of birds and mammals and especially domestic animals and that are sometimes vectors of equine trypanosomiasis and of rabies; also : any of several other bats that do notfeed on blood but are sometimes reputed to do so