About Diphylla ecaudata Spix, 1823
Diphylla ecaudata Spix, 1823 is similar in appearance to the common vampire bat. It differs from the common vampire bat in having broad, short ears; a short thumb without a pad; and large, shiny eyes. It also has more teeth than the common vampire bat: 26 teeth total, compared to the common vampire bat’s 18, and its dental formula is 2.1.1.2 / 2.1.2.2. Additionally, its brain is smaller in mass than that of the common vampire bat, reaching only two-thirds the size by mass. Its uropatagium is narrow and very furry, and as its species name ecaudata indicates, it has no tail. The fur on its back is dark brown, while the fur on its ventral surface is lighter in color. Its fur is soft and long. Compared to other leaf-nosed bats, its nose-leaf is greatly reduced in size. This species weighs 24–43 g (0.85–1.52 oz). Its combined head and body length is 75–93 mm (3.0–3.7 in). Its forearm measures 50–56 mm (2.0–2.2 in) long. Unlike Desmodus and the white-winged vampire bat Diaemus, it has no lingual grooves under its tongue. However, it does have a groove along the roof of the mouth that may function as a "blood gutter". This species has a wide geographic range, found across Central and South America. It has been officially documented in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. One single individual has ever been recorded in southern Texas, United States. This individual was a female found near Comstock, Texas in 1967, inside an abandoned railroad tunnel. This record placed the individual approximately 700 km (430 mi) north of the previously documented northern edge of the species’s range. Its altitudinal range spans 0–1,900 m (0–6,234 ft).
