300 



BATS. 



The Chix-Leafed Bats. 

 Genera Chilonycteris and Mormops. 



the other members of this familv 



Two genera, the one containing six and the other two species, differ from 



in the absence of a nose-leaf, the function of 

 which is performed by folds or lappets of skin 

 depending from the chin. These bats may 

 consequently be called chin-leafed bats. They 

 are of small size, the largest only measuring 

 2i inches in length, exclusive of the tail. The 

 two .species belonging to the genus Jlormops 

 are distinguisheil from those included in the 



genus Chilonycteris by the great elevation of 



the crown of the head above the line of the 



face, as shown in our illustration. While most 



of the species are dull-coloured, Blainville's 



chin -leafed bat (Mormops hlainvillei) is 



remarkable for the briglit orange hue of its fur : and it is also remarkable for its 



extremely fragile structure, the head being so delicately formed that light can 



actually be seen through the roof of the open mouth. 



HE.iD OF blainville's CHIN-LEAFED BAT. 



(From Dobson's Catalogue of Bats in 

 British Museum.) 



The Harmless Vampires. 



Genus Vampirus. 



We take as our first example of those having a nose-leaf, the well-known great 

 vampire (Vaminnis sjxctrum). It belongs to a group of the famil}' in which the 

 tail, when present, perfoi-ates the membrane between the legs. The nose-leaf, as 

 in most members of the family, is .spear-shaped, whence the name of spear-nosed 

 bats, frequently applied to all the Aampires. The great vampire, according to 

 Bates, is abundant in many parts of the Valley of the Amazon, such as the 

 neighbourhood of Ega : and it is the largest of all the South American species, 

 measuring 28 inches in expanse of wing. " Nothing in animal physiognomy can 

 be more hideous tiian the countenance of this creature when viewed from the 

 front, — the large leathery ears standing out from the sides and top of the head, 

 the erect spear-shaped appendage on the tip of the nose, the grin, and the glistening 

 black eye, — aU combining to make up a figure that reminds one of some mocking 

 imp of fable. No wonder that some imaginative people have inferred diabolical 

 instincts on the part of so ugly an animal. The vampire is, however, the most 

 harmless of all bats, and its inoffensive character is well known to residents on the 

 Amazon. I found two distinct species of it, one having the fur of a blackish colour 

 (V. a ur it us), the other of a ruddy hue (V. Sjyectrum), and ascei-tained that both fed 

 chiefly on fruits. The church at Ega was the headquarters of both kinds. I used 

 to see them, as I sat at my door during the short evening twilights, trooping forth 

 by scores from a large open window at the back of the altar, twittering cheerfully 

 as they sped oft' to the borders of the forest. They sometimes enter houses. The 



