Abstract: Members of Chiroptera (i.e. bats) possess a huge diversity of diets, which include insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, fruits, flowers, nectar, pollen, foliage, and blood. Of bats, approximately 70% of bat species are insectivorous, while only three species of bats (i.e. vampire bats) feed exclusively on blood. Vampire bats are the only group of mammals that drink blood, which appear to be unique and have become an attractive animal model to study dietary shift in mammals. Here we review studies on morphology, physiology, behavior, sensory systems, and gut microbiota in vampire bats, and highlight their adaptive traits of dietary specializations. Following the release of a high-quality genome sequence of the common vampire bat, we will have opportunities to explore functional changes of diet-related genes in vampire bats, aiming to dissect the molecular basis of dietary shift in animals. This review will be helpful in future studies of dietary changes in vampire bats and other animals.

Key words: Vampire bat, Diet, Blood-feeding, Adaptation, Adaptive evolution

摘要： 翼手目动物（蝙蝠）的食性多样性丰富，其食物包括昆虫、鱼类、两栖动物、爬行动物、鸟类、哺乳动物、植物果实、花、花粉、花蜜、叶片和血液等。其中，大约70%的蝙蝠主要以昆虫为食，而以血液为食的吸血蝙蝠只有3种，它们是哺乳动物中唯一的仅以血液为食的动物类群。因此，吸血蝙蝠是研究动物食性演化的重要模式动物。本文综述了吸血蝙蝠在形态学、生理学、行为学、感觉系统和肠道微生物等方面的研究，指出了吸血蝙蝠食性特化的适应性特征。随着普通吸血蝠高质量基因组的公布，我们将有机会探究食性相关基因在吸血蝙蝠中的功能改变，阐明动物食性转变的分子机理。本文将为吸血蝙蝠和其它动物食性转变的研究提供有益的参考。

关键词: 吸血蝙蝠, 食性, 吸血, 适应, 适应性进化