THE VAMPIRE BAT 1 7 



the wilds of Brazil, erroneously supposed the short 

 nosed artibeus to be the culprit. This bat certainly 

 has a conical muzzle and is tailless ; but it has a 

 broader face than the true desmodus, and its denti- 

 tion is not so highly specialised. Then again the 

 soricine bat (Glossophaga soHcina) was supposed to 

 be addicted to bloodletting, the roughened tongue 

 beine reg-arded as the instrument of attack. It was 

 found, however, that this bat uses the tongue to 

 scoop out the pulp of fruit and not to rasp the human 

 skin ; hence the term "soricine bloodsucker" applied 

 to it by the late Dr. J. E. Gray is quite unsuitable. 

 Another suspected species was the javelin bat or 

 {^r-A&-\A.wQ.^ (Phyllostoma kastatum)'. Mr. Bates, who 

 caught one in Brazil, supposed this animal to be 

 sanguinivorous, but a dissection of a spirit specimen 

 will demonstrate that it does not possess the modified 

 alimentary canal that is associated with such a diet. 

 Lastly, the spectre vampire (Vampirus specti^m) 

 has been asserted to live on blood ; an examination 

 of its teeth will promptly settle the question. Mr. 

 Bates, who opened the stomachs of several spectre 

 vampires, found them full of fruit-pulp and seeds, 

 and was thus able to clear up a little of this natural 

 history tangle. All the above species are, however, 

 technically classed as vampires, though they may not 



1 Not to 1)6 confused with the Jamaican fer-de-lance, a venomous 

 though useful serpent which preys on the rats infestinjj: the suojar canes. 

 Tlie pliyllostoma is of conspicuous size, and its large body would (juite till 

 the hand. 



