318 



BATS. 



in the same species. They are all natives of the 

 south-eastern parts of the old world, especially the 

 Oriental Archipelago, and the isles in the Indian 

 and Pacific Oceans. The incisors or cutting teeth, 

 are more or less chisel-shaped or trenchant, and the 

 grinders have their crowns not exactly tuberculated 

 like insect feeders, nor entirely flat like those that 

 live upon vegetables, but formed into two ridges 

 in the line of the jaw with a furrow between ; but 

 the ridges wear with age and the furrow becomes 

 partially obliterated. The number of teeth is also 

 either not constant in the same species, or they are 

 liable to fall out with age. The following are the 

 genera : 



1. PTEROPUS (" winged foot," called Rousetles, by 

 the French naturalists, and having no general English 

 name). Of these there are two subdivisions, one 

 without tails, and the other with rudimental ones ; the 

 former being the most decidedly vegetable feeders 

 in the structure of their teeth. 



The members of this genus are the largest of the 

 whole family, the body of the largest one being a 

 foot in length, and the extent of the wings or flying 

 membranes not less than five feet. The first or index 

 finger of their anterior extremities consists of three 

 phalanges of bones, and has a small nail, which is not 

 the case in any others of the family. It is, however, 

 much shorter than the middle finger, which is greatly 

 produced, and gives the wings a pointed appearance. 

 The third and fourth fingers consist of only two pha- 

 langes of bones, and are without nails. The flying 

 membrane originates in the sides, and is much 

 divided between the hind legs. The muzzle is simple, 

 .or without any appendages ; the nostrils are apart 

 from each other ; the ears arc of moderate size and 

 consist of only one membrane ; the tongue is covered 

 with recurved hard papillae ; and the stomach is elon- 

 gated, and varies in diameter in the different parts. 

 They are in great part vegetable feeders, very nume- 

 rous, gregarious, and destructive to the fruits and 

 other crops ; but they are also understood to prey 

 upon birds and the smaller mammalia. One of the 

 division with tails, and which has the tail rather longer 

 than the others, and partially detached from the 

 flying membrane, inhabits as far to the westward as 

 Egypt, where it resides during the day in the caves 

 or excavations near the Nile. 



2. CEPHALOTUS. The teeth in this genus resemble 

 those in the former, but the flying membranes are 

 different. Instead of originating at the sides, as they 

 do in the former species, they meet at the dorsal 

 line or ridge of the back, and are attached to the 

 body at that line only. The fore fingers have three 

 phalanges, but the last one is small, and has no nail. 

 Some of the species are subject to the loss of their 

 front teeth, which is, indeed, so common an occur- 

 rence in many species of the family, that a different 

 number of those teeth cannot safely be taken as a 

 positive specific difference. 



II. With insectivorous leeth, that is, the crowns of 

 the cheek teeth have prominent tubercles. These 

 are the true bats. All the species of this division 

 have three phalanges of bone in the middle finger, 

 and only two in all the rest. They are far more 

 numerous, varied, and generally distributed than the 

 members of the previous section, though from the 

 peculiar nature of their food, they are not generally 

 -found in such numbers in any one locality. There 

 are many well authenticated genera of them, besides 



a number of rather doubtful ones, being founded 

 entirely upon museum specimens, of the history of 

 which in the living state nothing is known. 



1. Molossus. This genus has the muzzle simple 

 but the head large, the ears also large, united to each 

 other at the base, and furnished with a small secon- 

 dary membrane. From the form of the hr.nl SOUK: 

 of them are called " bull-dog bats.'' They are wholly 

 or chiefly confined to the American continent. They 

 are subject to variations in the number of the front 

 teeth. 



2. Nyctinomus. These have two large conical front 

 teeth in the upper jaw, and (generally) four small 

 ones in the under. Their grinders, of which there 

 are four on each side above and five below, are fur- 

 nished with very sharp tubercler,. The lips arc deeply 

 wrinkled, or with a furrow in front. The nose is 

 flat, but without any membranous appendage. The 

 ears are large, united at their bases, and have an 

 external duplicature. The wings are very large, the 

 hind feet covered with long hair. The body not 

 exceeding three inches in length, and generally 

 smaller. They are found in Egypt, India, the Ori- 

 ental islands, and Madagascar ; and also, as is said, 

 in Brazil, and some of the West India islands, but 

 their existence in the latter places wants farther 

 confirmation. 



3. NoctUio. Tliis genus have four front teeth 

 above, the two middle ones longer than the others ; 

 two front teeth in the under jaw, the canines large 

 and strong, the cheek teeth four on each side of both 

 jaws, with very sharp tubercles on their crowns. The 

 muzzle is short, thick, covered with fleshy tubercles, 

 and cleft with a furrow, in a manner similar to that of 

 the hare, on which account they are popularly called 

 hare-lipped bats, though some of them are also culled 

 bull-dog bats. The nose is without any membranous 

 appendage, the ears are small, placed towards the 

 sides of the head, and not united at their bases. The 

 membrane between the hind legs is large, but does 

 not reach entirely to the point of the tail. The ' 

 claws on the hind feet are large and strong ; the 



Noctilio. 



oody is aoout four or five inches long ; tiie spread of 

 the w.ngs is at least a foot and a half. So fc, a, is 

 known, they are all natives of South America 



