6 MAMMALIA. CHEIROPTERA. Vespertilio. 



the upper jaw concealed — According to Dr Leach, " it is a very cautious ani- 

 mal; very easily tamed, but fond of concealing itself. It frequents the higher 

 parts of the caverns in which it occurs, and probably flies higher than the 

 preceding species." 



B. Nostrils destitute of apjyendages. Ears zpith an inner 

 auricle. 



Gen. II. VESPERTILIO.— Ears disjoined. Incisors in the 

 lower jaw six, approximate, bifid ; in the upper four, in 

 pairs, cyHndrical, pointed. 



3. V. murinus. Common Bat. — Ears the length of the head, 

 oblong, auricles semicordate. 



Vesp. a Bat; Flitter-mouse or Rear-mouse, Merr. Pin. 172 — Ray, Syn. 



Quad. 243 Penn. Brit. Zool. i. 148 — Inhabits old buildings and caves. 



Common. 

 This animal was placed by Merret among the birds, and is stiU by many 

 thoughtlessly regarded as belonging to that class. Its covering of hair, in- 

 stead of feathers, the bringing forth its young alive, and suckling them at the 

 two teats placed upon its breast, are characters which, independent of other ac- 

 tions, remove it far from the feathered tribes. According to White (Hist. Selb. 

 136.), when tamed, so as to take flies out of a person's hand, it brought its wings 

 rouml before the mouth, hovering and hiding its head in the manner of birds 

 of prey. It rejected the wings of flies. Ate raw meat. Was capable of rising 

 from a floor, and taking wing with ease. It drinks on the wing like swallows, 

 by sipping the surface as it plays over pools and streams. 



4. V. emarginatus. — Ears the length of the head, oblong, 



with a notch on the exterior margin. 



M. Geoffrey, Ann. du Mus. vol. viii. p. 198. tab. xlvi — Near Dover, 

 M. A. Brongniart. Fife, Fleming. 



This species v/as first separated from the preceding, with which it is apt to 

 be confounded, by the author whom we have quoted. It is not uncommon in 

 Fi'ance. The auricle is subulated. 



5. V. Noctula. Great Bat. — Ears shorter than the head, tri- 

 angular, nostrils bilobated, chin with a wart. 



Vesp. altivolans, Whitens Selb. i. 130. & 158 — V. auriculatus. Walker's 



Essays, 472 Great Bat, Penn. Br. ZooL i. 146. tab. xiii. No. 38. 



—First observed in England by White, and in Scotland by Walker. 

 According to White, this species flies high in the air, from the end of 

 April to end of July. Body to the end of the tail 4^ inches. Extent of wing 

 144 inches. Weight 9 drachms. The fur soft, of a bright chesnut colour. 

 Smell offensive. Dr Walker says, " Denies xxxii numeravimus. Primorcs 

 superiores 4 acuti, distantes : inferiores 4 acuti, contigui. Laniarii supe- 

 riores 6, anticis maximis acutis; inferiores 6, anticis majoribus. Molares utrin- 

 que 6. Aures duplicate, capite multo minores. Exterior major, ovata, ob- 

 tusa. Interior minor, brevior, lanceolata. PalmcB palmalo-alatie maximae, 

 poUice unguiculato. Plantce pentadactylae, fissse, digitis pilosis, unguiculatis. 

 Cauda geniculaia, C articulis. Memhrana juxta caudam, margine ciliato. E 

 latebris volitat circa 20. Aprilis." 



