Paleontologists in Argentina have found a fossilized jaw of
the extinct bat species Desmodus draculae inside an ancient burrow of a giant
sloth.
Desmodus draculae is an extinct species of leaf-nosed bat
that inhabited Central and South Americas from the Pleistocene epoch until the
early Holocene epoch.
First described in 1988, its fossils are known from
Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, Belize, and Bolivia.
Desmodus draculae had a wingspan of up to 50 cm (20 inches)
and a body mass of 60 g, making it the largest known vampire bat of all time.
It belongs to the subfamily Desmodontinae (vampire bats),
which also includes three extinct and three living species.
“The size of Desmodus draculae was larger than that of a
computer keyboard and significantly larger than that of its living relatives,”
said Dr. Santiago Brizuela, a paleontologist at the Universidad Nacional de Mar
del Plata and CONICET.
The food source of Desmodus draculae and other vampire bats
is blood, a dietary trait called hematophagy.
“Their name came from the legends of the Transailvania and
its creepy Count Dracula,” said Mariano Magnussen, a paleontologist at the
Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Miramar.
“In reality, they are peaceful animals that feed on the
blood of animals, and sometimes humans, for a few minutes without causing
discomfort.”
“The only bad thing is that they can transmit rabies or
other diseases if they are infected. Surely their prehistoric representatives
had similar behaviors.”
The new fossil of Desmodus draculae is at least 100,000
years old (Late Pleistocene epoch).
It was found at a paleontological site near southeastern
Buenos Aires in Argentina.
“The jaw of Desmodus draculae was found inside a cave or
burrow 1.2 m (3.9 feet) in diameter attributed to a giant sloth of the
family Mylodontidae, such as Scelidotherium,” said Dr. Daniel Tassara, a
paleontologist at the Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales Pachamama.
“We do not know if this vampire entered the cave to feed,
take refuge, or was prey to another animal.”
“Desmodus draculae was the last of the giant flying mammals.
It became extinct during the colonial period, around 1820, possibly as a
consequence from the Little Ice Age,” the researchers said.
The team’s paper was published in the journal Ameghiniana.
Santiago Brizuela & Daniel A. Tassara. 2021.
New Record of the Vampire Desmodus draculae (Chiroptera) from the Late
Pleistocene of Argentina. Ameghiniana 58 (2): 169-176; doi:
10.5710/AMGH.30.12.2020.3379
