The
New World leaf-nosed bats (
Phyllostomidae) are found throughout
Central and
South America, from
Mexico 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 as well as
frugivores (subfamily Stenodermatinae and Carolliinae). For example, the
false vampire (
Vampyrum spectrum), 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.