Davis Jillian S, Nicolay Christopher W, Williams Susan H
Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, USA.
J Morphol. 2010 Jul;271(7):853-62. doi: 10.1002/jmor.10840.
The three species of vampire bats (Phyllostomidae: Desmodontinae), Desmodus rotundus, Diaemus youngi, and Diphylla ecaudata, are the only mammals that obtain all nutrition from vertebrate blood (sanguinivory). Because of the unique challenges of this dietary niche, vampire bats possess a suite of behavioral, physiological, and morphological specializations. Morphological specializations include a dentition characterized by small, bladelike, non-occlusive cheek teeth, large canines, and extremely large, procumbent, sickle-shaped upper central incisors. The tips of these incisors rest in cuplike pits in the mandible behind the lower incisors (mandibular pits). Here, we use microCT scanning and high-resolution radiography to describe the morphology of the mandible and anterior dentition in vampire bats, focusing on the relationship between symphyseal fusion, mandibular pit size, incisor size, and procumbency. In Desmodus and Diaemus, highly procumbent upper incisors are associated with relatively small mandibular pits, an unfused mandibular symphysis with substantial bony interdigitations linking the dentaries, and a diastema between the lower central incisors that helps to facilitate the lapping of blood from a wound. In Diphylla, less procumbent upper incisors are associated with relatively large mandibular pits, a completely fused mandibular symphysis, and a continuous lower toothrow lacking a central diastema. We hypothesize that symphyseal morphology and the presence or absence of the diastema are associated with the angle of upper incisor procumbency and mandibular pit development, and that spatial constraints influence the morphology of the symphysis. Finally, this morphological variation suggests that Diphylla utilizes a different feeding strategy as compared to Desmodus and Diaemus, possibly resulting from the functional demands of specialization on avian, rather than mammalian, blood.
三种吸血蝙蝠（叶口蝠科：吸血蝠亚科），即普通吸血蝠（Desmodus rotundus）、白翼吸血蝠（Diaemus youngi）和无毛吸血蝠（Diphylla ecaudata），是仅有的完全从脊椎动物血液中获取所有营养的哺乳动物（食血习性）。由于这种饮食生态位带来的独特挑战，吸血蝙蝠具备一系列行为、生理和形态学上的特化特征。形态学特化包括一种齿列，其特征为小的、刀片状的、无咬合功能的颊齿，大的犬齿，以及极大的、前倾的、镰刀状的上门齿。这些门齿的尖端位于下颌门齿后方下颌骨的杯状凹坑（下颌凹坑）中。在此，我们使用显微计算机断层扫描（microCT）和高分辨率射线照相术来描述吸血蝙蝠下颌骨和前部齿列的形态，重点关注联合处融合、下颌凹坑大小、门齿大小和前倾度之间的关系。在普通吸血蝠和白翼吸血蝠中，高度前倾的上门齿与相对较小的下颌凹坑、未融合的下颌联合处以及连接齿骨的大量骨质交错有关，并且在下颌中门齿之间有一个间隙，这有助于从伤口舔食血液。在无毛吸血蝠中，不太前倾的上门齿与相对较大的下颌凹坑、完全融合的下颌联合处以及没有中央间隙的连续下齿列有关。我们推测联合处形态以及间隙的有无与上门齿前倾角度和下颌凹坑发育有关，并且空间限制影响联合处的形态。最后，这种形态学差异表明，与普通吸血蝠和白翼吸血蝠相比，无毛吸血蝠采用了不同的取食策略，这可能是由于专门以鸟类而非哺乳动物血液为食的功能需求所致。
