THE HORSESHOE BATS. 13$ 



The Great Horseshoe Bat, Rhinoloplms ferrum equinum (Plate II), 

 is much larger, sometimes measuring eighteen inches across the wings. 



The NoiiLE Horseshoe Bat, Rhinolophus nobilis, is the largest of the 

 genus, measuring four inches in length, and twenty inches from tip to tip 

 of the wings. It is a native of Java, and has very fine and long hair, the 

 color being brownish on the back and grayish beneath. The nasal ap- 

 pendage is a broad membrane, stretching transversely across the nose 

 like a shelf. The sides are bounded by parallel folds, and the inferior 

 portion is semicircular, with an obtuse point in the middle. 



GENUS MEGADERMA. 



The African Leaf Bat, Mcgadcrma frons, is more properly a mem- 

 ber of the Horseshoe family than of the Vespertilionidae, with which 

 some writers class it. The nose has three leaflets — one horizontal, one 

 vertical, and one of the horseshoe form. The ears are very large, fur- 

 nished with a tragus, and united over the forehead so as to give a heart- 

 shaped appearance to the head. They are blood-suckers. 



Of the four or five species known, the most important are the Leaf- 

 nosed Megadermes, which inhabit Madagascar, and the Lyre Mega- 

 dermes, found in Senegal. The latter measures fourteen inches across 

 the wings. 



GENUS NYCTERIS. 



This genus, with three species, is found in the Moluccas and Africa. 

 The nose is pierced by a cavity in which the nasal-leaf is concealed ; the 

 tail is of medium size, and supports the interfemoral membrane through- 

 out its length. They measure from eight to ten inches across the wings, 

 and possess a contrivance by which they can increase their size without 

 augmenting their weight. Two very small openings afford a communi- 

 cation between the mouth and the space between the skin and flesh, 

 which are only tied to each other by a few membranous threads at each 

 side of the neck and on the sides of the thumb ; when, therefore, the bat 

 desires to inflate its body, it closes its mouth and forces the air through 

 the cheek-passages into the empty space between the skin and flesh. 

 The result of this operation is that the skin is puffed out, so that the 



