Vampyrum spectrum (Linnaeus)

Simmons, Nancy B. & Voss, Robert S., 1998, The mammals of Paracou, French Guiana, a Neotropical lowland rainforest fauna. Part 1, Bats, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 237, pp. 1-219 : 93-94

Vampyrum spectrum (Linnaeus)

VOUCHER MATERIAL: 2 females (AMNH *267446; MNHN *1995.1051) and 1 male (AMNH *267132); see table 33 for measurements.

IDENTIFICATION: Vampyrum spectrum is the largest bat in the Neotropics and is easily identified by size alone. Descriptions and measurements have been provided by Goodwin and Greenhall (1961), Husson (1962,

1978), Swanepoel and Genoways (1979), Williams and Genoways (1980a), Navarro and Wilson (1982), and Brosset and Charles­ Dominique (1990). No subspecies are currently recognized ( Navarro and Wilson, 1982; Koopman, 1994).

Our voucher material conforms in all respects to previous descriptions of the species.

FIELD OBSERVATIONS: All four Vampyrum spectrum we captured at Paracou were taken in ground­level mistnets: two in creekside primary forest and two in manmade clearings bordered by welldrained primary forest. One individual was obviously attracted to the net by the squeals of an entangled Uroderma bilobatum , around which it swooped several times before becoming entangled itself.