In mammals, skulls are relatively plastic structures that may reflect ecological characteristics of individuals and species. We studied the role of static allometry in explaining the type and extent of sexual dimorphism in the skull of the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus, É. Geoffroy, 1810). In total, we analyzed 439 specimens from a large population restricted to a specific time and place by linear and geometric morphometric techniques. Out of 19 linear skull variables, only the length of the upper right dental row was significantly different between males and females. Principal Component Analysis revealed specific patterns of variation in the male foramen magnum and the female nasal. We found that variables related to the skull and the rostrum do not grow in the same proportion, regardless of the bat’s gender. We hypothesize that the pattern of sexual dimorphism revealed by our analysis is influenced by sexual selection and energetic demands imposed by the animal’s brain.
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Donoso et al. (2024) studied this question.