Vampyrum spectrum (Linnaeus, 1758)

Velazco, Paúl M., Voss, Robert S., Fleck, David W. & Simmons, Nancy B., 2021, Mammalian Diversity And Matses Ethnomammalogy In Amazonian Peru Part 4: Bats, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2021 (451), pp. 1-201 : 85

Vampyrum spectrum (Linnaeus, 1758)

VOUCHER MATERIAL: None.

UNVOUCHERED OBSERVATIONS: Ascorra et al. (1991) reported capturing an unspecified number of individuals of Vampyrum spectrum at Jenaro Herrera (see Remarks, below).

IDENTIFICATION: Vampyrum , the largest bat in the Neotropics, is a monotypic genus that occurs from southern Mexico to Bolivia and southwestern Brazil (Williams and Genoways, 2008; Reid, 2009). Vampyrum spectrum can be easily distinguished from other phyllostomines by the following traits: very large size (forearm 98–118 mm, greatest length of skull 49–54 mm); large ears; tail absent; calcar longer than foot; rostrum as long as braincase; three lower premolars; and two pairs of lower incisors (Williams and Genoways, 2008; Reid, 2009; Díaz, 2011; López-Baucells et al., 2018). Descriptions and measurements of V. spectrum were provided by Goodwin and Greenhall (1961), Husson (1962, 1978), Swanepoel and Genoways (1979), Williams and Genoways (1980a), Navarro and Wilson (1982), Brosset and Charles-Dominique (1990), Simmons and Voss (1998), Vargas-Espinoza et al. (2004), Discher et al. (2009), Díaz (2011), and Sousa et al. (2011). No subspecies are currently recognized (Williams and Genoways, 2008).

Vampyrum spectrum is morphologically unmistakable, so we see no reason to doubt Ascorra et al.’s (1993) identification of the individuals they captured and released at Jenaro Herrera. Their single reported forearm measurement (117 mm, from a female) is consistent with the known range of morphometric variation in this species and is much too large for the forearm of any other Neotropical bat.

REMARKS: Ascorra et al. (1993) reported that at least one of the individuals they captured was caught in a mistnet, where it was feeding on a Carollia benkeithi (identified as C. castanea ).