Editing Vampire (section)

=== Vampire bats ===
{{main|Vampire bat}}
[[File:Desmodus rotundus A Catenazzi.jpg|thumb|A [[vampire bat]] in Peru|alt=See caption]]
Although many cultures have stories about them, [[vampire bat]]s have only recently become an integral part of the traditional vampire lore. Vampire bats were integrated into vampire folklore after they were discovered on the South American mainland in the 16th century.{{sfn|Cohen|1989|pp=95–96}} There are no vampire bats in Europe, but [[bat]]s and [[owl]]s have long been associated with the supernatural and omens, mainly because of their nocturnal habits.{{sfn|Cohen|1989|pp=95–96}}<ref name="Cooper92">{{cite book|last=Cooper|first=J.C.|title=Symbolic and Mythological Animals|pages=25–26|year=1992|publisher=Aquarian Press|location=London|isbn=978-1-85538-118-6}}</ref>

The three species of vampire bats are all [[endemic]] to Latin America, and there is no evidence to suggest that they had any [[Old World]] relatives within human memory. It is therefore impossible that the folkloric vampire represents a distorted presentation or memory of the vampire bat. The bats were named after the folkloric vampire rather than vice versa; the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' records their folkloric use in English from 1734 and the zoological not until 1774. The danger of [[rabies]] infection aside, the vampire bat's bite is usually not harmful to a person, but the bat has been known to actively feed on humans and large prey such as cattle and often leaves the trademark, two-prong bite mark on its victim's skin.{{sfn|Cohen|1989|pp=95–96}}

The literary [[Count Dracula|Dracula]] transforms into a bat several times in the novel, and vampire bats themselves are mentioned twice in it. The 1927 stage production of ''Dracula'' followed the novel in having Dracula turn into a bat, as did the [[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|film]], where [[Béla Lugosi]] would transform into a bat.{{sfn|Cohen|1989|pp=95–96}} The bat transformation scene was used again by [[Lon Chaney Jr.]] in 1943's ''[[Son of Dracula (1943 film)|Son of Dracula]]''.{{sfn|Skal|1996|pp=19–21}}