r.i 



V ERTEBRATA. 







THE GREAT IIORSE-SUOE BAT. 



perate climate - go to sleep on the approach of winter, and hibernate till the warm season recalls 

 them to activity. 



G ! T.\l'll< >Z< >TJS: Taphozous. — Of this, the only well-established species are the T. per- 

 forattu and T. longimanus, both confined to tbc Eastern Continent. 



' 8ACO ►PTERY2 : Saccopteryx. — This includes only the S. Upturns, found in Guiana. 



' DI< 1.11 'bUl'S, Diclidurus, resembles the preceding. 



<;, ,,,is \< m T| LIO : Xnr/ifio. — These bats are of middle size, and are found in Central and South 



America. The Hakk-uim'kd Hat, X. Irjioriinis, and X. lineatus, are the only established species. 



mm VESPERTTLK > : Vespertilio. — The species of this genus, though small, are very numerous. 



Tin v are voracious, and devour an immense quantity of insects. A hundred flies and a dozen beetles 



are not more than the usual evening meal of one of the smallest kinds. They usually take their 



game on the wing; but sometimes they alight on the ground, where they walk very well, picking 



op grabs and caterpillars. They live in societies, gathering into dark places, such as crevices in 



wall-, holes in trees, excavations in rocks, and dark and sheltered places in the eaves of houses 



and public buildings ; t lev also inhabit chimneys where no fire is made. In the old stone edi- 



they often congregate by thousands. Their cry is sharp and feeble, and they are 



tinguished by a disagreeable musky smell. In captivity they become tame, and devour raw 



* with avidity. 

 'I " ' ; . Vespertilio alecto, and Emballonura monticola, are all of Eastern countries; 



the " "" tuberculata is of New Zealand. The V. nigrita, found in Western Africa, is a la 



. having a body six inches long, and a spread of wing of eighteen inches. It was called the 

 Flying M irmot by Daubenton. The V. leucogaster is of Eordofan, where it lives in the holes of 

 • baobab-trei : the Nycticeus viridis, found in Mozambique, is of a green color; the 

 I'. Borbonicm is found both in the isles of Bourbon and Maurice; the V. Belangeri is of Ind 

 the V. Temminckii, of Java ; the V. noctulina, of Bengal. 



The V. i common in Italy; the V. discolor, in Austria. The V. serotinus is one of 



the largest ■ opean Bpecies. It dwells alone or in pairs in the forests, and in the country 



in the vicinity of water, finding shelter in the holes of trees. Tt does not issue forth till the dark- 



..f night ifl complete. The 1'. Barbastellus and V. noctula are European- species : the latter 



in small bands, and is noted for its disagreeable odor. The Pipistrella, V. jHpistrellus, is a 



