Smithsonian Report, 1936. — Ditmars and Creenhali 



Plate 2 



1. Spear-nosed bat, Phytlos/omus hnslnlus panamen.fis Allen. This is the position assumed by the greater 

 number of bats in traversing horizontal surfaces. Such bats, when seekmg to flv, usually ascend a ver- 

 tical surface, in inverted position, before taking wing. 



-2. Vampire bat, Dcsmodus rolundtis murinus Wagner. The quadrupedal gait, with body well elevated 

 from the ground, illustrates how the animal lightly stalks and maneuvers over the body of its victim. 



3. The position of the thumbs, turned outward and serving as padded feet on the wing stalks, illustrates 

 the facility of the stalking gait. From this position a vampire bat can leap upward and take flight. 



