VAMPIRES. 



299 



microscope, be at once distinguished from that of all other species ; the individual 

 hairs being very thick, and with only faint traces of the projecting scales 

 characteristic of other bats. The tail is extremelj^ short. From its structural 

 peculiarities Dr. Dobson is led to believe that this curious bat hunts for its insect 

 food, not only in the air, but also on the branches and leaves of trees, among: which 

 it would certainl}' be able to creep with ease. 



The Vampire-Bats. 

 Family Phvllostohatid^-e. 



The extensive group wliicli it is convenient to allude to collectively under 

 the name of vampires, is exclusively conhneil to Central and South America 

 and the West Indian Islands. While related to the preceding family, with which 

 they agree in the characteristics mentioned on p. 289, they differ in certain other 

 points of impoi-tance. And they appear to have a relationship to the smooth- 

 nosed free-tailed bats (Emballonuridcc) similar to that presented by the leaf-nosed 

 bats (Rhinolophidce) to the tj-pical bats {Vespertilionidie). 



They are characterised by the presence of three bony joints in tlie third 

 or middle finger of the wing, accompanied either by a well-develoiDed nose-leaf, 

 or by folds of skin and warts on the chin. Such of them as have a nose-leaf 

 (and these are by far the great majority) may be always distinguished from the 

 leaf-nosed and horseshoe-bats, not only by the number of joints in the third 

 finger, and b\- the charactei-s mentioned on p. 289, but likewise by the presence of 

 a distinct tragus to the moderate-sized ears. Jloreover, if we examine the dried 

 skulls of any members of the two families, we shall find that while in the leaf-nosed 

 bats and their allies the premaxillary bones, in which the one pair of small upper 

 incisor teeth are implanted, are small, separate, and loosely attached to the skull, 

 in the vampires these bones are large, firinl}* united both to one another and the 

 skull, and generally carrj' two pairs of large incisor teeth. 



The number of genera and species of vampires is so great that onlj' the more 

 remarkable tyjies can be even mentioned in this work. With the exception of a 

 few species having well-developed tails and a large membrane between the hind 

 legs, which are of strictly insectivorous habits, the vampires are remarkable for the 

 varied nature of their food : some subsisting on a mixed diet of insects and fruits, 

 others being wholly frugivorous, and a few exclusively blood-suckers. Others 

 again, although there has been, and still is, considerable doubt on the matter, appear 

 to vary their ordinary diet by resorting to blood-sucking when occasion occurs. 

 All ai-e of purely aerial habits, and present none of the adaptations for crawling 

 which characterise the mastiff-bats and their allies. They appear to be limited to 

 the forest-clad disti-icts of the regions thej^ inhabit ; and, according to Dr. Dobson, 

 do not probabh^ extend much farther south than the thirtieth parallel of latitude. 

 That they are a highly specialised family is apparent both from their structure 

 and the peculiar habits of man}^ of their representatives. In South America the 

 name vampire is applied indifferently to several members of the family — a circum- 

 stance which has been the fruitful source of confusion among European writers. 



