Potential attack of the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) on nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) in northern Oaxaca, México

Abstract

The common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, is considered a predator and an obligate feeder on vertebrate blood of a diverse group of prey, but with preference to both native and exotic mammals.  The present record is the first documented potential predation of a nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus, by D. rotundus in the wild.  The observation was recorded on a camera trap set in a secondary growth fragment of tropical evergreen forest in Oaxaca, México.  In a 10 second recording, we observed an individual of D. rotundus stalking and chasing an individual D. novemcinctus that is searching for food in the leaf litter.  The present observation along with another study carried out in Brazil, where a vampire bat chased a giant armadillo Priodontes maximus, suggest that armadillos might be prey of D. rotundus, but the interaction is difficult to document in the wild.