DAUBENTON'S BAT, NATTERER'S BAT, ETC. 289 



With the whiskered bat ( V. mystadnus) we resume, and at the same time con- 

 clude, our survey of the British representatives of the genus. This bat, while 

 agreeing in the relative size of the feet, and other leading characteristics, with Nat- 

 terer's, belongs to a subgroup distinguished by the tragus being straight and more 

 or less blunted at the tip, instead of being acutely pointed and inclining outwards. 

 This bat is of small size, the length of the head and body being only one and one- 

 half inches, and the spread of the outstretched wings eight and one-half inches. 

 The fur on the upper part of the body is dark chestnut, tending to black, and dusky 

 beneath. It takes its name from the fringe of long fine hair on the upper lip. It 

 is a solitary species, although on some occasions a considerable number may be 

 seen together on account of the abundance of food in particular localities. 

 In its mode of flight and general habits it is very similar to the pipistrelle ; 

 hiding during the day in situations as various as are those favored by different 

 individuals of that species. Its range includes the greater part of Europe, while 

 in Asia it has been found in Syria, the Himalayas, and North China. It may 

 be mentioned that no less than twelve species of the genus Vespertilio are pe- 

 culiar to the New World, and that the whole of them are characterized by the 

 small size of their feet. 



This bat (Miniopterus schreibersi} , which ranges from Germany to 

 Schreibers' Bat T , A ,. , . , , .. . 



Japan and Australia, and is the sole representative of its genus, 



differs from all the preceding forms by the great 



elevation of the crown of the head above the face. 



The same feature is found in the South American 



and West Indian tall-crowned bats (Natalus), of 



which a head is shown in the figure. Both these 



bats are distinguished by the presence of a gap in 



the middle line between the first pair of incisor 



teeth, and by a second gap between the second 



incisor and the tusk. The American tall-crowned 



bats, while agreeing with Vespertilio in the num- HEAD OF TALL-CROWNED BAT. 



"ber of their teeth, are further distinguished by (Three times natural size.) 



,, t1 . * , , f ,. .~ , , (From Dobson, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1880.) 



the small size of the tragus of the ear. On the 



other hand, Schreibers' bat has but thirty-six teeth, owing to the absence of the first 



pair of premolars. 



Our notice of the Typical Bats may conclude with genera, each 

 Sucker-Footed , , , " , , , v i_ 



represented only by a single species, which are peculiar in having 



sucking organs on the thumbs or hind feet. One of these species is 

 the tricolor bat ( Thyroptera tricolor) of Brazil, and the other the golden bat (Myxo- 

 poda aurita) of Madagascar. Both have thirty-eight teeth, as in the genus Vesper- 

 tilio. In the former the suckers on the extreme toes are in the form of round discs 

 on the lower surfaces of the thumbs and the soles of the feet ; while in the latter 

 the sucker on the thumb is horseshoe like, and those on the feet are smaller. Both 

 these bats are further remarkable for possessing three joints in the third or middle 

 finger of the wing, in which respect they resemble the second family of the Free- 

 Tailed Bats. 

 19 



