CHIROPTER4, ^53 



swifts, high in the air. Several kinds of Vespenirio, Miniopterna, 

 Megadenna, and Nycticejus may be cited amongst the svvift(n' 

 flying forms. On the other hand, the species of HhinolopJiidce and 

 those belonging to the genus Vespertilio have a comparatively slow 

 flight and rarely rise far from the ground. They appear as a rule 

 later in the evening, and only in fine weather. Some of the 

 longer-winged bats, especially the species of Vesperugo, are easily 

 distinguished on the wing by the quickness Avith which they 

 change the direction of their flight. More observations of the 

 flight and habits in general of Indian bats are needed. 



From the weakness and reversed position of the hind limbs, 

 bats ai"e unable to walk like other mammals, and when, from 

 any cause, they are induced to descend to the ground, they 

 make most awkward attempts to progress on all fours, their 

 thumbs being mainly used in locomotion. By means of the 

 claws on the toes and that on the thumb, they can climb up 

 any uneven sloping or vertical surface. When at rest they 

 suspend themselves by their hind feet to trees, or in caves, old 

 buildings, &c., and remain hanging head downwards. When 

 moving about, they also hang by their thumbs. The young one 

 is carried by the mother until nearly her own size. Usually one 

 is produced at a birth, but at most two. Amongst many bats the 

 sexes live apart except at the pairing-season. As in the Primates, 

 the females ha^-e only two pectoral teats, but in certain families 

 a pair of nipple-shaped appendages are developed in the inguinal 

 region. 



In temperate regions bats hibernate in the winter, a number 

 of them being frequently found huddled together. Some observers 

 have supposed that no hibernation takes place in India ; but the 

 insectivorous forms, in Northern India at all events, are but rarely 

 seen abroad during the cold season, though the Pteropida' are as 

 active as at other times. 



Bats were by Linnaeus classed amongst the Primates, and, until 

 recently, many naturalists assigned to the Chiroptera a very high 

 position amongst Mammalia. It has, however, been shown that 

 the true position of bats is next to tiie Insectivora, and that both, 

 with their poorly developed brains, are of inferior grade. 



A complete account of the order has been published by Dobson 

 in his ' Catalogue of the Chiroptera in the Collection of the 

 British Museum,' from which work and the same author's ' Mono- 

 graph of the Asiatic Chiroptera ' the following descriptions of the 

 Indian membei's of the order are chiefly taken. 



The bats are by Dobson and others classed in two principal 

 divisions called suborders, but not distinguished by characters of 

 similar importance to those which serve to separate the Pinnipedia 

 from Fissipedia in Carnivora, and the Dermoptera from the true 

 Insectivora. The tirst of these suborders includes a single family 

 of frugivorous bats ; to the other belong the five families of 

 insectivorous Chiroptera. All are thus discriminated : — 



t2 



