| Basic info | Taxonomic history | Classification | Included Taxa |
| Morphology | Ecology and taphonomy | External Literature Search | Age range and collections |
Desmodus draculae
Discussion
Holotype: MUSB 152-85 PB, Skull, mandible, skelletal parts.
Collected by Omar J. Linares, 10-18 April 1965
Etymology: The species epithet of this largest known chiropteran vampire comemorates Count Dracula, the greatest human vampire of folklore.
Taxonomy
Desmodus draculae was named by Morgan et al. (1988). Its type specimen is MUSB 152-85 PB, a partial skeleton, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Cueva del Guácharo, Caripe, which is in a Pleistocene terrestrial horizon in Venezuela.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1988 | Desmodus draculae Morgan et al. |
Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data
|
|
If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
†Desmodus draculae Morgan et al. 1988
show all | hide all
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| G. S. Morgan et al. 1988 | A Desmodus larger than any other known form (greates length of skull more than 31 mm vs. 27.4 maximum for D. strocki, length of humerus 51 mm vs. 47.5 maximum for D. stocki), but skull more slender and delicate. Mandible with ventral border straight in lateral aspect and with pockets behind incisors virtually non-existent |
Measurements
| part | N | mean | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braincase height | 1 | 14.8 | |||||
| Coronoid height | 1 | 9.40 |
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
| Source: f = family, o = order, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Ji et al. 2002, Carroll 1988, Simmons et al. 2008, Nowak 1991, Hendy et al. 2009 | |||||
Age range: base of the Early/Lower Pleistocene to the top of the Lujanian or 2.58000 to 0.01170 Ma
Collections (3 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early/Lower Pleistocene | Venezuela (Monagas) | Desmodus draculae (type locality: 145874) | |
| Lujanian | Argentina | Desmodus draculae (217299) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene | Brazil (Bahia) | Desmodus draculae (71313) |