ATALAPHA. MAMMALIA. 81 



V. Maugei, Desm. Ears very large, united ; hollowed exteriorly to- 

 wards the point, which is rounded ; fur of a blackish brown above, 

 and of a clear brown below ; posterior parts of the body white ; 

 membranes gray. A little larger than the preceding. Porto- Rico. 



V. TimorensiSj Geoff. Desm. Ears large, united at their internal 

 base by a little membrane ; fur blackish brown above and ash-co- 

 loured brown below. About 2| inches long j spread of the wings 

 10 inches. Island of Timor. Ami. Mus. viii. pi. 47. 



V. velatus, Isid. Geoff. Chestnut-coloured above, grayish-brown 

 beneath ; tail as long as the body, entirely involved in the mem- 

 brane ; ears long, with two longitudinal plaits hanging over the 

 face ; spread of wings 13^ inches. Ann. Sei. Nat. iii. 446. 



Gen. 54. ATALAPHA, Rafinesque. Vespertilio, Gmel. Geoff. 



No incisors ; nose simple, without crests or membranes ; ears 

 separate, and furnished with auricles ; tail long, surpassing 

 the interfemoral membrane a little, or comprised in it. 



A. Americana, Rafinesque. (Vesp. Noveboracensis, Penn.) New 

 York Bat. Ears short and broad, rounded ; tail comprised en- 

 tirely within the interfemoral membrane. United States. 



A. sicula, Rafinesque. Ears as long as the head ; tail projecting by 

 an obtuse point, Inhabits Sicily. 



ORDER IV. FERJE. Carnassiers, Cuv. 

 Four extremities proper for walking ; three kinds of teeth ; 

 mammae abdominal, varying in number ; stomach simple, 

 membranous ; intestines short. 



This order is composed of unguiculated quadrupeds, which possess, in common 

 with Man and the Quadrumana, three kinds of teeth. They all live chiefly on ani- 

 mal matter, and this more exclusively as their molar teeth are more or less formed 

 for cutting. Those which have these teeth in part or wholly tuberculous, subsist 

 more or less on vegetable substances ; and those which have them covered with conical 

 points live chiefly upon insects. The articulation of their inferior jaw, directed 

 cross-wise, and shutting as a hinge, prevents its having a horizontal movement, the 

 motion being limited to shutting and opening. Their brain, though furrowed, has 

 no third lobe ; their orbit is not separated by a temporal depression ; their cranium 

 is confined, and the zygomatic arch widened and raised, to give more room and 

 strength to the muscles of the jaws. Their predominating sense seems that of 

 smell, and the pituitary membrane is generally extended upon numerous bony la- 

 minae. Their fore-arm turns with less facility than among the quadrumanous ani- 

 mals. Their intestines are also less voluminous, on account of the substantial na- 

 ture of their aliment, and to avoid the putrefaction which animal matter would ex- 

 perience in remaining too long in an elongated canal. 



FAMILY I INSECTIVORA. 



Feet short, armed with stout nails ; those of the hind feet al- 

 ways with five toes, having their sole entirely bearing upon 



VOL. I. F 



