CLASS MAMMALIA 651 



Indies. The largest of these are the flying " foxes " (Pteropus). 

 One species ( P. edulis) has a wing expanse of five feet and a body 

 only one foot in length. The fruit bats feed on fruit, especially 

 figs and guava, and move about in companies. 



Almost half of all the species of bats belong to the family 

 VESPERTILIONID.E. The brown bat, Vcspertilio fuscus, is a com- 

 mon species inhabiting the United States. The little brown 

 bat, Myotis lucifugus (Fig. 517), is abundant in eastern North 

 America. It is less than three and a half inches in length. 



FIG. 517. The little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus. (From Ingersoll.) 



The true vampire bats belong to the family PHYLLOSTOMID^: and 

 live in South America. They live on the blood of horses, cattle, 

 and other warm-blooded animals, and sometimes attack sleeping 

 human beings. Their front teeth are very sharp, but the back 

 teeth have practically disappeared. The skin is cut by the 

 front teeth, and the oozing blood is lapped up. 



Some of the other families of bats are (i) the. long-eared bats 

 (EMBALLONURID.E), (2) the noseleaf bats (RHINOLOPHID,E), 

 (3) the funnel-eared bats (NATALID.E), (4) the hare-lipped bats 

 (NoCTiLiONiDyE.), (5) the MOLOSSID^E, which are more at home 

 on their legs than other bats and can scamper about almost like 

 mice, and (6) the THYROPTERID/E, which have sucking discs on 

 the thumbs and soles of the feet, enabling them to adhere to a 

 smooth surface. 



