title: Visual acuity of the vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, and its dependence upon light intensity.
abstract: The visual system of microchiropteran bats is usually considered of minor function, but reliable experimental studies are rare. In this paper the visual acuity of three (1 female, 2 male male) vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) has been investigated in a two-choice training apparatus (striped patterns vs. gray patterns) for light intensities from 0.04 1x to 310 1x. There was a logarithmic dependence between light intensity and visual acuity. The lowest visual angle at 0.04 1x was 2 degrees 31', at 310 1x the minimum resolvable stripe width was 48'.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000502:physiology*; D008027:Light; D014792:Visual Acuity