144 CHEIROPTERA. 



GENUS NYCTINOMUS. 



This genus has pointed ears, thick hanging lips, and a sharp nose. 

 The great toes are separated from the others and fringed on the outside. 



The Nyctinoiiuis nasiitus, called likewise Molossus or Dysopcs nasutus, is 

 found in South Carolina, but most extensively in South America. As 

 befits its name of nasutus, the nose is well defined ; the head is larsfe, the 

 lips pendulous ; the ears are as broad as they are long, and almost join at 

 the base. The fur is soft and thick, of a yellowish-brown, tipped with 

 white, and covers the lower part of the ears. The tail projects some dis- 

 tance beyond the interfemoral membrane, and the toes are supplied with 

 long hairs. 



Another species, the Nyctinoimts obscurus, is nearly the size of the Bar- 

 bastelle, and measures three inches. The head is short, the muzzle 

 swollen, the ears large. 



GENUS NOCTILIO. 



The DoG-iiE.\DED Bat, Nodilio Avicricauus or Icporinus, is the best 

 known of the tivo species of this genus. The ear is short, narrow, and 

 pointed ; the muzzle conical, the nose overhanging the lips ; the upper 

 canines very long.' The fur is of a reddish-yellow, and does not extend 

 to the flying membrane. The second species, Noctilio albiventer, is much 

 smaller, and the fur on the belly is yellowish-white. 



The bats are a very difficult study, and it is quite uncertain how 

 many species are known ; the most probable estimate is that of Mr. 

 Murray, who gives a list of four hundred species. For American Bats, 

 the reader who desires to pursue the subject is referred to the exhaustive 

 monograph of Dr. Allen, in the Transactions of the Smithsonian Institute. 

 For the Cheiroptera in general Mr. Dobson's elaborate Catalogue is the 

 latest authority. 



