Common Vampire Bat- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1. Common 
Vampire Bat-
From 
Wikipedia, the 
free 
encyclopedia

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
9Va9ull44yw http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/discover-magazine-vampire-bats-feeding-
habits.html http://animal.discovery.com/videos/fooled-by-nature-vampire-bat-basics.html

3. 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.

4. babies large pointy ears flat leaf shaped nose Tiny thumbs

5. body size of thumb wingspan-8 inches

6. furry just hanging around

7. Notes

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. sucking blood up with tongue

12. razor sharp teeth

13. Notes

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. walking

19. 1 1. Introductory information 2 2. Appearance  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 

20. 3. Interesting abilities and behaviours 3 4 4. Feeding habits 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 

21. 1 1. Introductory information 2 2. Appearance  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 

22. 3. Interesting abilities and behaviours 3 4 4. Feeding habits 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 

23. 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) 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)

24. 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 
ofinteresting 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

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

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. 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.