424 



Okdeb cheiroptera.— bats. 



"The bat that with hook'd and leathery wings 

 Clung to the cave roof." — Southey's "Thalaba," book ix. st. 30. 



When we see the Common Bat {Vespertilio pipistrelhis) flit- 

 ting about after its insect prey in the dusk of the summer 

 evening, we at once recognise it as an insectivorous animal, 

 adapted for capturing its food in the air instead of on the 

 earth. We then are natui-ally led to inquire by what means 



rig. 334.— Skeieton of Bat.» 

 » Fi?. 334. Skexetom of a Bat.— r/, clavicle ; A, humerus; cti. ulna; ca. carpus- «« 

 thumb; )),c, metacarpus; p/i, phalanges; o, scapula; /, femur; ti. tilna. The%ever-U 

 nones aie indica ted hj the same letters as in the skeleton of the Camel, /V" 2S9 ' 



