Assessment of sexual dimorphism <i>Desmodus rotundus</i> (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), a rabies reservoir in Latin America.

ABSTRACT: Morphometric traits of a host have been used recently in disease ecology for a deeper understanding of the connection between phenotype and transmission rates. The common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, is the main reservoir of rabies in Latin America, one of the most lethal zoonotic diseases in the world. Comprehension of morphological variation in D. rotundus is insufficient, contradictory, and inconclusive. Due to this inconsistency, we explored sexual dimorphism in D. rotundus by combining different measures to provide new knowledge that can contribute to the control of rabies. As a result, our study provides evidence of sexual dimorphism in D. rotundus with females generally larger than males in body and wing measurements. The statistical, as well as the pr

SUBMITTER: Cifuentes-Rincon A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11870455 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature