False vampire Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any New or Old World carnivorous bat erroneously thought to suck blood but in fact feeding on insects
    false vampire bat.

WordNet

Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.), the Vampyrus spectrum of South America, formerly erroneously supposed to have blood-sucking habits; called also vampire, and ghost vampire. The genuine blood-sucking bats belong to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. See Vampire.

Webster 1913