314 



BATS. 



nu instance of very defective nomenclature ; for " car- 

 nnxsicrx" is the literal French translation of the Latin 

 "carnivora ,-" and thus tlic definition of the order and 

 that of the family should be the same, and one of 

 them useless, or else the same word is used in different 

 senses. Cuvier had certainly too great a fondness 

 for classing animals according to their teeth or other 

 feeding instruments. His notion evidently was to 

 include all animals which have digital extremities 

 and the three kinds of teeth, with the exception of 

 man and the quadrumana, in one general order. 

 But if that order include the bats, it might also include 

 the quadrumana; for the characters of these are not 

 more different from those of the true carnivora. The 

 qoadrumana are separated on account of their organs 

 of motion organs adapted for climbing trees ; and 

 surely climbing the air, or floating along in that ele- 

 ment, is as distinctly marked a character. If we take 

 into account the whole character and economy of the 

 animals, we shall find that the bats have fully as 

 many in common with the quadrumana as with the 

 beasts of prey. So that, though Linnasus proceeded 

 more by general analogy and Cuvier more by anato- 

 mical dissection, Linnaeus is in this instance not more 

 incorrect than Cuvier. Cheiroptera should unques- 

 tionably be a separate order, if the system is to guide 

 us to the affinities or relations of animals ; and if not, 

 we might as well be without any system. When we 

 take the proper distinctive character of the cheirop- 

 tera the flying membrane, and look for the affinity 

 the possession of the same character in an inferior 

 degree, we do not find it in the carnivora, but in the 

 rodentia and the marsupinta in the squirrels, and the 

 phalangixta and petaurista; and with these there is 

 the same relation in habit as in structural character. 

 See CLASSIFICATION. 



With the exception of a single genus, and that 

 probably not consisting of more than one species the 

 genus Gateopithecut, the " cat-ape," or the " flying 

 cat" of common language, all the Cheiroptera are called 

 bats. That genus* has pectoral mamma?, and the 

 skin of the sides enlarged so as to form a parachute, 

 extending nearly to the points of the toes ; but it has 

 none of the true bat characters. It does not fly, that 

 is, it does not, by the action of the fore legs, give 

 itself fresh impulses while in the air. It is a climbing 

 and leaping animal, and its extremities are far better 

 adapted for these purposes than for flight ; whereas 

 the bats can neither climb nor leap, at least they 

 must, from their structure, be very awkward at either. 

 The peculiarities in the structure of the bats receive 

 no illustration from that genus, nor from any other 

 animal, nor can they be used in explanation of any 

 other; therefore, whether they are to be called an 

 order or a family, the bats should stand alone ; and 

 doing so, they form a very well-defined natural group, 

 a group no member of which can be mistaken if the 

 characters of any one are well understood. 



The characters of the bats as a group are: the skin 

 of the sides produced into a broad and thin mem- 

 brane, which extends to the points of the toes ; the 

 toes, or fingers, of the fore-legs very much produced, 

 and united by a thin and broad membrane; the 

 thumb separated from the fingers, generally very 

 short, and furnished with a strong crooked claw, 

 which the fingers are generally without ; the mem- 

 brane wholly or nearly naked, and having a leathery 

 appearance." The hind legs arc much shorter than 

 tnc foro, the toes on them but little produced, and 



each of the toes furnished with a crooked claw. The 

 length of the tail varies, being in some of the species 

 merely rudimental; it is generally included in the 

 membrane, but does not appear to be the efficient 

 instrument of steering or keeping the course in the 

 flight of the animals. That appears to be done 

 chiefly by the motions of the hind legs, while the 

 fore legs are the grand instruments of flight. The 

 hind legs have not any peculiar muscular structure, 

 by means of which they can be very efficient in mov- 

 ing the wings, and, when the animal is extended, the 

 motion' which they have is horizontal rather than 

 vertical. The fore legs, on the other hand, have 

 little horizontal motion, and cannot be moved much 

 either in advance or to the roar ; but their vertical 

 motion is powerful; and, in order to give insertion 

 to the large pectoral muscles which produce it, the 

 sternum or breast-bone is provided with a prominent 

 crista or ridge. The shoulder-joint, or articulation 

 of the humerux, admits of a considerable range both 

 of elevation and depression ; but the joints of the 

 elbows, wrists, and fingers, do not admit of being 

 stretched beyond the straight line. The wings, or 

 rather the " membranes of flight," for they are not 

 wings cither in the form of their bones or the nature 

 of their covering, thus admit of partial liexure or 

 folding when they are raised ; and when they first 

 " take the air," in their downward stroke, they are 

 hollow, by which means they take a better hold, and 

 this hollowness in some degree compensates for the 

 want of feathers, the fibrous structure of which takes 

 hold of the air without the assistance of hollowness, 

 at least to the same extent, though all birds which 

 fly with a fluttering or bat-like motion have the wings 

 more or less hollow. The membrane of flight is very 

 thin and light, and admits of being folded into very 

 little space when the animal is in a state of repose. 

 Such are the general characters as dependent upon 

 the organs of motion. 



The organs of nourishment have a general resem- 

 blance to those of the other mammalia which feed 

 upon insects and other small invertebrate animals ; 

 but with a general modification to suit the habit of 

 the tribe, and particular ones in the different genera. 

 The gape of the mouth extends very far backwards, 

 and also opens wider than in most animals of the 

 same size. In these respects it has some resemblance 

 to the gape of the bills of birds which catch insects 

 when in flight, especially to the goat-suckers, which, 

 like the bats, are nocturnal or twilight feeders. It is 

 further worthy of remark, that these birds which, in 

 their mode of preying, certainly resemble the bats 

 more than any other animals, can make little or no 

 use of their eyes in the catching of their prey. The 

 front or incisive teeth vary in the different species, 

 the canine are generally large, and the grinders have 

 short protuberances. The intestinal canal is simple 

 and without any caecum, indicating food of easy 

 digestion. This last character forms a very marked 

 distinction between the bats and the galeopitheci, 

 which have the caecum large, and are more of vege- 

 table feeders. 



The organs of sense are variously developed. The 

 ears are in general large, and in some of the species 

 they have a duplicature or second concha, as if there 

 were one ear within another. It is hence presumed 

 that the sense of hearing is acute ; and it may be that 

 those which have the duplicature to the ears have 

 the means of closing up the auditory passage, so that 



