64 MAMMALIA. CHEIROPTERA. 



feet ; two pectoral mammae ; very strong clavicles ; scapulae 

 large; fore -arms not capable of rotation. 



The distinctive character of this order is the membrane extended between their 

 fore-feet and fingers, which supports them in the air, and permits them to fly when this 

 membrane is sufficiently developed. This arrangement demands powerful clavicles and 

 large shoulder-blades to give the parts the requisite solidity ; but it is incompatible 

 with the rotation of the fore-arms, which in this order are fixed. All of these animals 

 have four large canine teeth, but the number of the incisors vary. Their pectoral mam- 

 ma? and male organ of generation connect them with the order Quadrumana, while 

 the other details of their structure equally approach them to the quadrupeds. The 

 early writers seem sufficiently puzzled in what class to arrange this singular group. 

 Aristotle conceived them to be birds with membranous wings ; Pliny notices them 

 as viviparous birds ; and Aldrovandus made one family of the bat and the ostrich. 

 The Cheiroptera are nocturnal animals, and feed chiefly on insects and fruits. Their 

 power of locomotion on the ground is very limited, and consists in dragging them- 

 selves forward in an awkward manner by the thumbs of their wings. They pass 

 a greater part of the year in a state of lethargy, fastened to the roofs of caverns by 

 their hinder feet. 



FAMILY I. GALEOPITHECI. 



Fingers of the hands furnished with very crooked nails ; den- 

 tal system anomalous ; skin of the flanks covered with hair 

 both above and below. 



Gen. 24. GALEOPITHECUS, Geoff. Pall. Desm. Lemur, Gm. 



Incisors |, canines \-\, molars |-| = 36. Upper intermediate 

 incisors very small ; lateral ones long, compressed, edged, 

 with a little tubercle on each side at their base. Inferior 

 incisors inclined and dentated ; posterior molars rough, with 

 points and dentations ; muzzle pointed ; ears small, round- 

 ed ; tail of medium length ; a membrane enveloping the neck, 

 the extremities, and even the fingers and tail ; fingers of the 

 hands short ; nails lunated, very slender ; two pectoral mam- 

 mae ; caecum much developed. 



The Galeopitheci are but imperfectly known. They hing suspended by their hind 

 legs from the branches of trees ; feed on insects, and probably small birds. They 

 move with difficulty on the ground, but climb trees with surprising facility, and 

 spring from the one to the other, supported in their flight by the extension of the 

 membrane around their body. The largest species known is not bigger than a young 

 cat. The extremities are entirely enveloped in this singular membrane, which ex- 

 tends even to the nails of the toes. They are nocturnal or crepusculous animals, 

 and suspend themselves during the day as the bats. They inhabit some of the 

 islands of the Indian Archipelago. 



G. rufus, Geoff. Desm. (Lemur volans. Lin.) Fur red, without 

 spots. About a foot long. Pelew Islands.- Audeb. Hist. Galcop. 



pi. i. 



G. variegatus, Geoff. Desm. Cuv. Fur red-brown, variegated 

 ! above, spotted with white on the extremities. About six inches 

 long. Supposed by some naturalists to be merely a variety of 

 the preceding. The Moluccas Audeb. Galeop. pi. 2. 



