CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 3. CHEIROPTERA, 



131 



megaderm. — (See p. 132.) 



THE VAMPYRES: PHYLLOSTOMID^. 



The term Phyllostomidw is deriv \ from the Greek phullos, a leaf, and stoma, the month, and 

 in application to the bats of this family, means the Leaf -mouthed. They are, in fact, of that class 

 which have a membraneous or leaf-like appendage upon the nose, as already described. The 

 French call them Fers de lance, or Spear-head or Javelin Bats. "The body of the largest of these 

 animals is about six inches long; the wings have an expanse of two feet They are peculiar to 

 the tropical portions of South America, in some parts of which they are m with very abundantly. 

 Their favorite food appears to be the blood of the larger mammalia and : ds, which they attack 

 during sleep, and biting a small hole in the skin, suck the blood through it. Cattle and horses 

 s.re very subject to their attacks, and appear frequently to lose a good deal of blood from the 

 wound after the bats have taken their fill ; but it seems probable that, unless an animal has been 

 bitten severely in several places, the bite is rarely attended with ill consequences. Fowls, how- 

 ever, are said often to die from the effects of the bite. 



Such animals as these, hovering about in the darkness, and drinking the blood of those thev 

 make their prey, and sometimes even leaving their victims to bleed to death, are calculated to in- 

 spire the imagination with horror. Hence exaggerated accounts of these creatures have been cir- 

 culated. It has been said, as before stated, that they often attack men during the night by open- 

 ing an artery and sucking the blood, lulling their victims the while with their long wings, until the 

 loss of blood terminates in utter exhaustion. According to Azara, however,, the inhabitants of 

 Paraguay have no dread of these animals, although they frequently enter the houses, and suck 

 the blood of those who may incautiously expose any part of their bodies ; but he adds that, be- 

 yond a painful sensation, which lasts for some days, he never found any ill effects from their 

 attacks. He states that they do not open any of the larger vessels^ but merely make a small in- 

 cision in the skin. Tschudi, the traveler and naturalist, however, mentions the case of an Indian 

 who was bitten in the face by a species of this family, while sleeping in the woods in a state of 

 intoxication; the wound, although apparently very slight, was followed by so much inflammation 

 and swelling, that the man's features became quite unrecognizable. 



Genus PHYLLOSTOMA : Phyllostoma. — Of this- genus there are three species. The Spectre 

 Bat, P. spectrum, the true type of the vampires, is six inches long, with two feet spread of wings. 



, A head of the size of life is given at p. 123. The Javelin Bat, P. hdstatum, and Lophostoma syl- 

 vicolum, are smaller. They are all addicted to the sucking of blood, but the spectre bat is the 

 largest and most formidable. 



Genus GLOSSOPH AGA : Glossophaga. — This term is derived from the Greek, glossa, the tongue, 



. and phago, to eat,- and is expressive of a peculiarity of the animals of this genus. They have a 



