Spectral bat

The spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum), also called the great false vampire bat, great spectral bat, American false vampire bat or Linnaeus's false vampire bat, is a large, carnivorous leaf-nosed bat found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. It is the only member of the genus Vampyrum; its closest living relative is the big-eared woolly bat. It is the largest bat species in the New World, as well as the largest carnivorous bat: its wingspan is . It has a robust skull and teeth, with which it delivers a powerful bite to kill its prey. Birds are frequent prey items, though it may also consume rodents, insects, and other bats. Unlike the majority of bat species, it is monogamous. Colonies consist of an adult male and female and their offspring. The adult male will bring food back to the roost to provision the adult female and their offspring. Colonies generally roost in tree hollows, though individuals may roost in caves. Due to habitat destruction and its low population density, it is listed as a near-threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The spectral bat was described in 1758 by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus. The holotype was collected in South America by Daniel Rolander. Linnaeus assigned it to the genus Vespertilio, which he classified as a kind of primate. Its species name "spectrum" is from Latin meaning "apparition" or "specter". The genus Vampyrum was not described until 1815 by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque. The genus and species names were not used in their current combination until biologist George Gilbert Goodwin did so in 1942. "Vampyrum" is a Neo-Latin derivative of vampire, thus named because it was once erroneously believed that the species was sanguivorous and consumed blood. Based on mitochondrial DNA and the RAG2 gene, the spectral bat is most closely related to the monotypic genus Chrotopterus (the big-eared woolly bat). Vampyrum and Chroptopterus diverged from other leaf-nosed bat species approximately 20.75 million years ago, with the two genera diverging from each other 14.

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Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera (kˈaɪɹəptɛɹə). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out digits covered with a thin membrane or patagium. The smallest bat, and arguably the smallest extant mammal, is Kitti's hog-nosed bat, which is in length, across the wings and in mass. The largest bats are the flying foxes, with the giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus) reaching a weight of and having a wingspan of .