vampire bat

vampire bat

noun

{bc}any of several bats ({it}Desmodus rotundus, Diaemus youngi{/it}, and {it}Diphylla ecaudata{/it} of the subfamily Desmodontinae of the family Phyllostomidae) of Mexico and Central and South America that feed on the blood of birds and mammals and especially domestic animals and that are sometimes vectors of disease and especially of rabies