CHEIROPTERA. 13 



One of the most complete examples of the skeleton of 

 a Bat, from a crevice of a bone-cave in the Mendips, 

 although partially fossilized, is here figured rather with 

 a view to aid the collector of Mammalian remains in the 

 recognition of the Cheiropterous characters, than as an 

 example of a species coeval with the great Bear and Mam- 

 moth of the same cavern. 



The short and expanded cranium (fig. 5, a), with the 

 wide inferior apertures caused by the loss of the large and 

 naturally loose bony vesicles of the ear-drum, the short 

 and broad upper jaw, with the characteristic wide and 

 deep anterior notch, occupied in ordinary Mammalia by the 

 intermaxillary bones, and the teeth, bristling with sharp 

 points, all yield unequivocal characters of the insectivorous 

 Bat. 



The large and broad scapula, the long and strong clavicle 

 (fig. 5, c), bespeak the muscular forces, and the resistance 

 required for the use of the arm in the vigorous actions of 

 flight : the bones of the fore-arm and hand, and those of 

 the hinder extremity, equally illustrate that remarkable 

 organization, the final purposes of which have been so well 

 explained by the author of the History of the existing 

 Mammalia of Britain. 



" The sternum, the ribs, and the bones composing the 

 shoulder, 11 says Professor Bell,* " are all developed for the 

 attachment of powerful muscles, adapted to the rapid and 

 continued movements of the anterior extremity, which, 

 although consisting essentially of the same parts as that of 

 Man, has its different bones so modified in form and extent 

 as to afford the most admirable and complete support to an 

 extensive expansion of the skin, which thus forms a perfect 

 and efficient pair of wings. This modification principally 



* Bell's British Quadrupeds, p. 3. 



