PTEROPODID.E, 17 



nuicli extended laterixlly to afford a strong attachment for the clavicles 

 which are always present and very robust. The ulna is almost rudimen- 

 tary and firmly joined to the radius, and the fore-arm is quite incapable 

 of any rotation. The metacarpal bones are greatly elongated. The pelvis 

 is straight and long, and the coccygeal bones are lengthened in some to 

 support the membrane, and assist them in turning rapidly. The organ 

 of hearing is greatly developed in the insectivorous species, especially the 

 tragus. The foliaceous appendages to the organs of smell in some 

 {Rhiuolophinoi) may be perhaps intended to give increased power and 

 delicacy to this oi'gan. Their wings form an enormously expanded organ 

 of touch, by means of which they can direct their flight even when their 

 eyes are extirpated, and their hearing blunted, as was proved by some 

 experiments by Spallanzani. 



Bats do not possess a coecum. The penis is pendulous and has a small 

 bone in it. The testes only descend daring the breeding season. The 

 uterus has two short horns. The supposed additional inguinal teats of 

 the RhinoIopJd are })robably only cutaneous glands. The females of many 

 bats have nursing pouches. Many become periodically toi-pid, hybernatiiig 

 in cold countries. 



The hairs of bats generally appear under the microscope as serrated and 

 jointed, in some almost annulated, mostly so at the tip. Many are infested 

 by insects of the genus Nyctcrihia. Bats arc found throughout the whole 

 Avorld. They are divided into the families Pieropodidce, Vamjjyridce, 

 N oclilionidce, and VespcrtUionidce. 



Fam. Pteropodid.e. 



Fkucuvorous Bats. 



Molars, with the crown flat with a median longitudinal groove. Ears, 

 small, without a tragus. Index with three phalanges, generally unguicu- 

 late. Tail, very short, or none. Interfemoral meiaibrane, small, deeply 

 excised posteriorly. Face, lengthened. Gape, moderate. 



The frugivorous bats, differing so much in their dentition from the 

 insectivoi-ous species, seem to lead through the flying Lemurs directly 

 to the Qaadriimana. They comprise the largest species iir the order, 

 and are chiefly found in the tropical regions of the East, being very 

 niimerous in the Malayan islands as far as Australia. Their molars have 

 rounded eminences ; the stomach is complex, long, and twisted on itself, 

 has two dilatations and some deep longitudinal rugse or folds. The pyloric 



c 



