ABSTRACT
The fossil record of desmodontids is limited to the Quaternary period, for the most part, and until recently only to the late Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. The deepest level yielding vampire remains is thought to be no older than 5,000 years and thus perhaps the youngest known occurrence of D. stocki. Climate, specifically minimum winter temperature, undoubtedly is the ultimate limiting factor in vampire distribution. Generally scarce in the fossil record, are needed if paleontology is to provide clues to the origin of vampire bats, and these will necessarily come from deposits older than the Late Pleistocene. The practical application of fossil vampires as paleoclimatic indicators is severely limited by their rarity as fossils. The discovery of Desmodus archaeodaptes suggests that Blancan or earlier fissure fillings in Florida may be the most probable source of new evidence for vampire phylogeny.
