📸 PhotoPhoto: Marco Tschapka · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Spectral Bat
Vampyrum spectrum (Spectral Bat · チスイコウモリモドキ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Because people once mistakenly believed it sucked blood, it was given the name 'false vampire.'
- 💡 Its maximum wingspan of 90 cm is about half the arm span of an adult (about 1.7 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 180 g is slightly lighter than one apple (about 200 g) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Spectral Bat is the largest bat in the New World; rather than sucking blood, it preys on birds, bats, and rodents.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is mostly reddish brown with a slightly paler underside and short, fine fur. It lacks a tail, has large rounded ears measuring 39–42 mm, and a large noseleaf about 17 mm long.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Beginning to hunt at dusk, it locates birds by scent and stalks them quietly before striking. The remains of 84 birds of 18 species were found in a single roost; pairs mate for life, and one adult always stays in the nest to guard the young.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List NT (2018) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22843/22059426
- • IUCN Red List category NT — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1004991
- • iucnredlist.org — 22059426
- • wikidata.org — Q1142526
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Vampyrum spectrum - Paul Velazco (cropped) 2.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Vampyrum spectrum
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Roberto Díaz Sibaja · CC BY 3.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Desmodus rotundus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.