| Phyllostominae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tomes's sword-nosed bat (Lonchorhina aurita) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Chiroptera |
| Family: | Phyllostomidae |
| Subfamily: | Phyllostominae Gray, 1825 |
| Genera | |
Chrotopterus | |
Phyllostominae is a subfamily of bats that include big-eared, spear-nosed, sword-nosed bats and relatives. [1] [2]
The New World leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) are bats found from southern North America to South America, specifically from the Southwest United States to northern Argentina. They are ecologically the most varied and diverse family within the order Chiroptera. Most species are insectivorous, but the phyllostomid bats include within their number true predatory species and frugivores. For example, the spectral bat, the largest bat in the Americas, eats vertebrate prey, including small, dove-sized birds. Members of this family have evolved to use food groups such as fruit, nectar, pollen, insects, frogs, other bats, and small vertebrates, and in the case of the vampire bats, even blood.
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