302 BATS. 



THE JAVELIN-BATS. 

 Genus Phyllostoma. 



Omitting mention of several allied genera, we come next to the javelin-bats, of 

 which there are three species. These are distinguished from the harmless vampires 

 by the much shorter and broader muzzle, and also by the presence of two (instead 

 of three) premolar teeth on each side of the lower jaw. 



The common javelin-bat (Phyllostoma hastatum) measures just under 4 inches 

 in the length of head and body, and is next in point of size to the great vampire. 

 Its general colour is usually dark -greyish, or reddish -brown above, and paler 

 beneath, but sometimes the upper parts are of a brilliant chestnut-brown. The 

 other two species are much smaller, measuring only 3 inches, or a fraction more, in 

 length of head and body. All are found in Brazil, and they generally rest in the 

 trunks of hollow trees, or beneath the leaves of palms. They have been accredited 



THE JAVELIN VAMPIRE. 



with blood-sucking propensities, and although Dr. Dobson seems disinclined to 

 accept this view, yet the testimony of several observers inclines us to believe that 

 the indictment is true. We have already alluded to Mr. Bates' account of his being 

 wounded during the night by a bat which he refers to the present genus ; and in 

 the same passage he observes that " the fact of their sucking the blood of persons 

 sleeping, from wounds which they make in the toes, is now well established ; but it 

 is only a few persons who are subject to this blood-letting. According to the 

 natives, the Phyllostoma is the only kind which attacks man." The latter part of 

 the statement makes this testimony the less convincing, since there is no doubt but 

 that the blood -sucking vampires mentioned below are the species which most 

 generally and habitually attack mammals. That the bat caught by Mr. Bates was 

 a javelin-bat, or an allied form, is evident from his allusion to the large size of the 

 nose-leaf ; and thus the only way in which his statement could be disproved would 

 be by assuming that, while a true blood-sucking vampire was the real culprit, the 

 javelin-bat was the one caught and charged with the attack. 



Mr. Wallace's testimony, as given in his Travels on the Amazons, is very similar 

 to that of Mr. Bates ; the javelin-bats being here also the ones charged with blood- 

 sucking. In a later work (Tropical Nature), Mr. Wallace indeed speaks of the 



