132 



V KllTEBRATA, 



III ,llMlil>ihnillliilliil!l[l,'dil»llill)llllillllWiJI:ilitil»iiti*()iiiUiJi.)JJiil5ll 



TiiK lunxoroMrs micropiiylixs walking. 



long, sl< nder, and extensile tongue, thinly covered with hair, which they use in sucking the blood 

 of their \ ictims, by rapidly extending and retracting it in the incision they have made, thus vindica- 

 ting their scientific name, which is equivalent to tongue-eaters. They are insectivorous, but yet arc 

 said to Buck the blood of men and animals, as already described. They are found in Guiana and 

 Brazil. The principal species are the Glossophaga soricina ; G. amplexicaudata ; G. caudata ; 

 and <j. ecaudata. 



\us STENODERMA, Stenoderma, are noted for short or nearly rudimentary tails, a large 

 short head, lips studded with warts, and a tongue adapted lor suction. They are accustomed to 

 suck the blood of sleeping animals. The best-known species are the JS. rufum ; S.perspicillatum; 

 S. lilium ; S. lineatum ; S. rotundaturn; S. eavernarvm ; and S. Chilienses. 



i, us l>ESM< )I >rs, Desinodus, have powerful incisor, as well as sharp cutting canine teeth : 

 they have no visible trace of a tail. Their habits are little known, but they are supposed to re- 

 sembi" the preceding genus. The Desmodus ru^us, extending across the warm parts of the 

 South American continent, is the only known species. 



THE RHINOLOrHIDES 



'I hi- name, from the Greek rhin, the nose, and lophos, a crest, signifies nose-crested, and is ap- 

 plied to this family because of the membraneous appendages on their nose, giving them a singular 

 and often forbidding appearance. They are peculiar to the Eastern Continent and Australia, and 

 are very widely distributed. In England, where they are called Horse-shoe Bats, there are two 

 I all have the anterior appendage surrounding the nostrils, this being somewhat of 



the shape of a horse-shoe. There are several species, which are of various sizes, the largest, the 

 ■<■ Bat, being about two and a half inches long in the body. They are insectivo- 

 rous, some of there feeding on cock-chaffers. 



'" ' ' MEGAD BR M A : Megaderma. — The animals of this genus are destitute of tails ; the ears 

 are so large a- to unite in the middle; the nasal appendages have also a great development. { 

 ..f the species suck the blood of other bats, and some occasionally take a sip of the blood of 

 frogs. I species are the M. lyra, found in India; the M. frons in Gambia; and the M. spasm 

 in Java. 



Ot n u* I; 1 1 1 \( 1 1 '< >\1 A : Rhinopoma. — The bats of this genus have a long, slender tail, without , 



