586 CHORD AT A, 



families are the water-shrew {Fota?nogaIe) 'and the golden- 

 moles {Chrysochloris) of the Ethiopian region, the tenrec 

 {Centetes) of Madagascar and the mole-like Solenodon of 

 West Indies (strictly speaking, comprised in the Neogoean 

 realm). These families retain the more primitive trituber- 

 cular teeth with a V-shaped cutting edge. 



Order XIV. — Chiroptera. 



The fox-bat has been used as an illustration of the 

 Chiroptera. They are evidently closely allied to the 

 Insectivora but have the fore-limbs modified for flight, the 

 rest of the skeleton also undergoing important modifications 

 which have been noticed under the type. They resemble 

 the Insectivora in their simple brain (the cerebrum having 

 few convolutions and not extending over the cerebellum), in 

 the abdominal testes and in the discoidal and deciduate 

 placenta. 



SUB-ORDER I. — MICROCHIROPTERA. 



The sub-order Microchiroptera comprises a number of 

 smaller insect-eating bats, with cusped molars and with 

 greater adaptation for flight than the other sub-order, as 

 shown by the presence of a claw on the first digit only 

 and the part taken by the tail in the formation of the 

 interfemoral membrane (see page 553). The common 

 British bats and the South American vampires belong to 

 this sub-order. 



SUB-ORDER II. MEGACHIROPTERA. 



The sub-order Megachiroptera comprises the large 

 frugivorous bats typically represented by the Pteropodidce. 

 They have flat cuspidate or comparatively smooth molars, ' 

 a claw on the first two digits of the manus and an inter- 

 femoral membrane free from the tail. The Pteropodidce 

 have a peculiar distribution, being found in Australia, the 

 Oriental region and Madagascar. 



Order XV. — Primates. 



The Primates stand at the head of the orders of Mam- 

 malia and of the animal kingdom. They are essentially 



