VESPERUGO. 309 



rounded. Tragus short, expanded above, curved inwards, broadest 

 near the top, which is round ; outer margin very convex, with a 

 small pointed projection at the base ; inner margin concave. 



Head broad and flat, the glandular swellings at the sides of the 

 muzzle very pronounced ; nostrils projecting and directed outwards 

 and downwards, space between them concave. Thumb short, with 

 a small callosity at the base. Feet thick, toes short. Wing- 

 membranes from the ankle. Postcalcaneal lobe well developed, 

 rounded. Only the tip of the tail is free. 



Inner upper incisor bicuspid in the young onlv, the small outer 

 cusp disappearing in adults ; outer incisor much shorter than the 

 inner, but much broader in transverse section at the base, and 

 having the crown hollowed out to receive the summit of the lower 

 canine. Lower incisors with their broad crowns parallel, oblique 

 to the jaw and overlapping each other. The first upper premolar 

 very small, in the internal angle between the canine and the 

 second premolar, which meet externally. 



Colour of fur light yellowish brown, very little paler below, and 

 the hairs on the upper surface paler towards the base. A specimen 

 said to be from Ceylon is rather darker brown. Some European 

 examples are said to be reddish brown. 



Dimensions. Head and body 3 inches, tail 2, ear from crown O38, 

 forearm 2-1. 



Distribution. Found almost throughout the temperate Palaearctic 

 region and widely spread in the Ethiopian. This bat has been 

 found in Nepal and Sikhim, and perhaps in Kandahar; there are 

 specimens in the British Museum labelled Ceylon and Singapore, 

 and the species has been recorded from Sumatra and Java. 



Habits. The noctule bat generally rests in trees during the day, 

 though it is sometimes found in considerable numbers in buildings. 

 It appears early in the evening, and has an especially strong and 

 powerful flight, rising high in the air. It haunts wooded country, 

 and lives largely on cockchafers and similar beetles. It hibernates 

 thoroughly, never appearing till late in the spring, and it disappears 

 soon in the autumn. Large numbers are found hibernating 

 together. This species has a strong unpleasant odour. A good 

 account of some of its habits, and especially of the birth of the 

 young, by Mr. Gr. Daniell, will be found in the Proc. Zool. Soc. for 

 1834, p. 130. He found only a single young in several females ; 

 but Blasius states that two are generally produced. The young 

 are born blind and naked. 



182. Vesperugo leisleri. The hairy-armed Bat. 



Vespertilio leisleri, Kuhl, Deutsch. Flederm. p. 38 (1817). 

 Scotoplulus leisleri, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xxiv, p. 363 ; id. Cat. p. 33 ; 



Jerdon, Mam. p. 34. 

 Vesperugo leisleri, Hutton, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 707; Dobeon,Mon. Ax. 



Chir. p. 91 ; id. Cat. Chir. B. M. p. 215. 



Ears and tragus similar to those of V. noctula, as are all details of 



