Editing Spectral bat (section)

==Taxonomy and evolution==
The spectral bat was [[species description|described]] in 1758 by Swedish [[zoologist]] [[Carl Linnaeus]]. The [[holotype]] was collected in South America by [[Daniel Rolander]]. Linnaeus assigned it to the genus ''[[Vespertilio]]'', which he classified as a kind of primate.<ref name="Linnaeus 1758"/> Its [[specific epithet (zoology)|species name]] "''[[wiktionary:spectrum#Latin|spectrum]]''" is from [[Latin]] meaning "apparition" or "specter".

The genus ''Vampyrum'' was not described until 1815 by [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque]].<ref name="Rafinesque 1815">{{cite book| last=Rafinesque| first=C.| year=1815| title=Analyse de la nature, ou tableau de l'univers et des corps organisés| volume=1815| publisher=Palerme :Aux dépens de l'auteur, 1815| url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48310132| page=54|language=French|trans-title=Analysis of nature, or picture of the universe and organized bodies}}</ref> The genus and species names were not used in their current combination until biologist [[George Gilbert Goodwin]] did so in 1942.<ref name="Gardner 2008"/> "''Vampyrum''" is a [[Neo-Latin]] derivative of [[vampire]], thus named because it was once erroneously believed that the species was [[hematophagy|sanguivorous]] and consumed blood.<ref name="Husson 1978">{{cite book|last=Husson| first= A. M.| year=1978| title= The mammals of Suriname| volume=2| publisher= Brill Archive| isbn=978-9004058194| pages=107–108}}</ref>

{{cladogram|align=left|style=width:315px;font-size:85%;line-height:85%|caption=Position of ''Vampyrum'' in Phyllostomidae based on molecular data.<ref name="Monteiro 2010">{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00857.x|pmid=19804403|title=Adaptive Radiations, Ecological Specialization, and the Evolutionary Integration of Complex Morphological Structures|journal=Evolution|volume=64|issue=3|pages=724–44|year=2010|last1=Monteiro|first1=Leandro R|last2=Nogueira|first2=Marcelo R|doi-access=free}}</ref> Tribe relationships based on Hoffmann et al. 2008.<ref name="Hoffmann 2008"/>
|cladogram={{clade
   |1={{clade
     |label1=Macrophyllini
     |1={{clade
       |1=''[[Trachops]]''
       |2=''[[Macrophyllum]]''}}
     |2={{clade
       |label1=Vampyrini
       |1={{clade
         |1=<big>'''''Vampyrum'''''</big>
         |2=''[[Chrotopterus]]'' }}
       |label2=Phyllostomini
       |2={{clade
         |1=''[[Lophostoma]]''
         |2={{clade
           |1=''[[Tonatia]]''
           |2={{clade
             |1=''[[Phylloderma]]''
             |2=''[[Phyllostomus]]''
             |3=''[[Mimon]]''

}} }} }} }} }} }} }} 
Based on [[mitochondrial DNA]] and the [[RAG2]] gene, the spectral bat is most closely related to the monotypic genus ''[[Chrotopterus]]'' (the big-eared woolly bat).<ref name="Monteiro 2010"/>

''Vampyrum'' and ''Chroptopterus'' diverged from other [[leaf-nosed bat]] species approximately 20.75 million years ago, with the two genera diverging from each other 14.35 million years ago.<ref name="Baker 2012">{{cite book| chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235355621|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139045599.012|chapter=Molecular time scale of diversification of feeding strategy and morphology in New World Leaf-Nosed Bats (Phyllostomidae): a phylogenetic perspective|title=Evolutionary History of Bats|pages=385|year=2012|last1=Baker|first1=Robert J|last2=Bininda-Emonds|first2=Olaf R. P|last3=Mantilla-Meluk|first3=Hugo|last4=Porter|first4=Calvin A|last5=Van Den Bussche|first5=Ronald A|isbn=9781139045599}}</ref> The spectral and big-eared woolly bats likely evolved from an [[insectivore|insectivorous]] ancestor.<ref name="Monteiro 2011">{{cite journal|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-11-137|pmid=21605452|pmc=3130678|title=Evolutionary patterns and processes in the radiation of phyllostomid bats|journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology|volume=11|pages=137|year=2011|last1=Monteiro|first1=Leandro R|last2=Nogueira|first2=Marcelo R |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The spectral bat is included within the subfamily [[Phyllostominae]], which includes species of diverse feeding strategies, including carnivory, insectivory and mixed insectivory/[[frugivore|frugivory]]. The spectral and big-eared woolly bats are the two extant members of the [[tribe (biology)|tribe]] Vampyrini. Vampyrini additionally includes the extinct genus ''[[Notonycteris]]''.<ref name="Hoffmann 2008">{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2008.08.002|pmid=18727956|title=Molecular dating of the diversification of Phyllostominae bats based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=49|issue=2|pages=653–8|year=2008|last1=Hoffmann|first1=Federico G|last2=Hoofer|first2=Steven R|last3=Baker|first3=Robert J}}</ref> Based on dental characteristics, Czaplewski and Morgan additionally included the [[fringe-lipped bat]] (genus ''Trachops'') and sometimes the [[Lophostoma|round-eared bats]] (genus ''Lophostoma'') in Vampyrini.<ref name="Czaplewski 2012">{{cite book|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139045599.006|chapter=New basal noctilionoid bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from the Oligocene of subtropical North America|title=Evolutionary History of Bats|pages=162|year=2012|last1=Czaplewski|first1=Nicholas J|last2=Morgan|first2=Gary S|isbn=9781139045599}}</ref>

Along with its [[sister genus]] ''Chrotopterus'', the [[ghost bat]] from Australia, and a few others, the spectral bat is one of the few macropredatory bats, feeding on relatively large vertebrates (this group includes the various [[fishing bat]]s). A number of [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] features [[Convergent evolution|arose independently]] in these species, which independently evolved from insectivorous ancestors.<ref name="GoBig">{{cite journal |last1=Santana |first1=Sharlene E. |last2=Cheung |first2=Elena |title=Go big or go fish: morphological specializations in carnivorous bats |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society - Biological Sciences |date=11 May 2016 |volume=283 |issue=1830 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2016.0615 |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2016.0615 |pmid=27170718|issn=1471-2954|access-date=19 May 2025}}</ref><ref name="Nuwer 2016"/>