vampire bat: Meaning and Definition of

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