166 JOURNAL OF THE TRINIDAD 



McCarthy to the Caves at Gasparillo, where these bats live in 

 great numbers, for the purpose of ascertaining whether this 

 fishing habit was a fact and the precise maimer in which the 

 bats went about it. We arrived late, after 7 p.m., on a beautiful 

 moonlight night and we observed the bats leaving their caves 

 and performing their fishing operations. They generally flew 

 near shore, say about ten feet from the rocks and one foot above 

 the surface of the water, going to and fro, until they perceived a 

 fish, then suddenly they made a swoop, striking the water 

 with a swish and oft* again. At times tins manoeuvre is made 

 very cpiickly and at others the animal seems to be checked 

 a little, no doubt the prey in this instance giving a little 

 more trouble. I could see the interfemoral membrane, i.e. the 

 membrane between the thighs, close in the form of a bag, but 

 this I believe is done to check their flight which is very rapid, 

 and not in my opinion for the purpose of collecting fish. 

 I have also examined their deposits collected from the caves 

 at Gasparillo and from an old gateway, which once faced 

 the wharf, and all the deposits contained remains of fish 

 and beetles. These bats are also to be seen fishing in the 

 drains and gutters in Tranquillity and may be observed in 

 this interesting operation at dusk any evening and also on moon- 

 light nights. Mr. McCarthy suggested at the time that the feet 

 might be used for capturing their prey but my opinion is that there 

 is no reason for believing so. The claws are only used to hang by, 

 which is the reason for their great development. This bat 

 has a large expanse of wing. The specimen before you measures, 

 6| inches from tip of nose to the end of the extended inter- 

 femoral membrane ; the length of head and body is 3i- inches ; 

 length of fore arm 3 inches; hind foot lh inches and expanse of 

 wing 23 inches. The colour is orange red. I have found it living 

 in company with a smaller species Mormops tnegalophylla, the 

 first specimen of which was sent to England by Sir William 

 Robinson in 18S9. The bats of Trinidad belong to three families, 

 viz. : Vespertilionidre. Emballoneuridaj and Phyllostomatidse. Of 

 the first family we have up to now only discovered two species — 

 Yexpertilio nigricans and Thyroptera tricolor though it is very 

 probable, according to Mr. Oldfield Thomas, that there are more. 

 These are distinguished by having no exfoliations or nose leaves 

 on the muzzle and by having the tail contained in the inter- 

 femoral membrane, the tip slightly projecting beyond it. 

 Thyroptera tricolor is by no means common ; it is a small bat 

 with a spread of wing of about 9 inches. It is chiefly remark- 

 able on account of an adhesive circular pad at the base of the 

 thumb and on the foot, by which it adheres, to the various 

 objects on which it may settle ; it is an insect eater. In the 

 next family Emballoneurida? the members are characterized by the 



