Dictionary
vam'pire bat"
1. any of several New World tropical bats of the genera
Desmodus, Diphylla, and
Diaemus, the size of a small mouse, feeding on small amounts of blood obtained from resting mammals and birds by means of a shallow cut made with specialized incisor teeth.
2. any of several large South American bats of the genera
Phyllostomus and
Vampyrus, erroneously believed to feed on blood.
3. See
false vampire. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.