54 



VESPEKTILIONIDiE.- 



-MAMMAIJA.- 



-VESPERTILION ID.E . 



BECHSTEIN'S BAT {Vespertilio BecJistemii).— Only 

 a single example of this elegant species has at present 

 been procured, we believe, in tliis country. The speci- 

 men was captured at the new forest in Hampshire, and 

 is preserved in the British Museum. In the catalogue 

 it is designated Myotis Bechsteinii. It appears to have 

 a decided preference for woods and thickets, and takes 

 up its diurnal abode in hollow trees. It is somewhat 

 exclusive in its habits, mixing only with individuals of 

 its own kind, and then only in small compauies. Bech- 

 stein's Bat rather exceeds two inches in length ; the 

 muzzle is a little attenuated and pointed, while the ears 

 are scarcely longer than the head. 



DATTBENTON'S BAT {Ves2)ertUio Davhentonii). — 

 Throughout Europe this mammal appears to have a 

 pretty wide distribution, and in the United Kingdom it 

 lias been taken at the fiir north of Scotland. It is very 

 little longer than the preceding, but the head is consi- 

 dei-ably shorter, and less pointed in front. The ears are 

 comparatively short, and slightly notched at the external 

 margin. Its flight is low and rapid, and it frequents 

 the neighbourhood of still waters. 



lEISELE'S BAT {Vespertilio Leishri).—MT. Bell 

 appropriately describes this bat under the cognomen of 

 the Hairy-armed Bat, on account of a remarkable band 

 of hair which passes along the whig membrane at the 

 under surface of the forearm. A solitary specimen 

 has been obtained in this country, and is preserved in 

 our great national museum, and recorded in the cata- 

 logue under the generic title of ScotojMlus. Its habits 

 and places of resort are similar to those of the above 

 species. It is two and a half inches in length ; the 

 head is compressed and pointed anteriorly ; the ears 

 are short and broadly curved at the upper part. 



THE WHISKERED BAT ( Vespertilio mystacimts). 

 — The masculine title in which this little animal re- 

 joices is imparted to it on account of certain long fine 

 hairs attached to the upper lip ; and, whatever may be 

 affirmed by the learned, we think it offers but a feeble 

 apology for the said development. However, the bat 

 is not proud ; on the contrary, Mr. Bell avers that it is 

 a " timid and restless species." The living specimen 

 procured by this gentleman, instead of accommodating 

 itself to the lively society of others of the cheiropterous 

 family with which it was associated both in captivity 

 and freedom, obstinately refused food and perished. 

 Its length rather. exceeds an inch and a half; the ears 

 are not so long as the head, and they are somewhat 

 notched at the outer margin. This bat has been taken 

 in several of the southern counties of England. 



THE BAEBASTELIE (Barbastellvs communis). — 

 This is a very well marked bat, differing from all the 

 preceding in several peculiarities, although it has the 

 ordinary length of two inches. The ears are united 

 below over the forehead, while the nostrils are situated 

 on the upper surface of its short, truncated muzzle. 

 The fur is darker than usual, being nearly black over 

 the region of the spine. The ears are remarkably 

 broad, and of a more or less quadrilateral form ; they 

 are ii-regularly folded at various points, and rather 

 deeply cleft at the outer margin. The eyes are singu- 

 larly minute, and seem to be almost included within 

 the auricles. According to Mr. Boll, however, this is 



not actually the case. The eminent naturalist just 

 named, kept a specimen in confinement for several 

 weeks, and the account he has given of its habits are 

 too interesting not to be recorded in extenso. " It 

 was taken during a very hard frost in the latter end of 

 December, in a large chalk cavern at Chiselhurst in 

 Kent, which is excavated at the bottom of a shaft 

 seventy feet deep. In this cavern, during very severe 

 frosts, several species of bats are found to retreat ; and 

 on this occasion I received with the barbastclle a speci- 

 men of Vespertilio mystacimis, three of V. Nattereri^ 

 and several of Plecotus auritus. My little prisoners, 

 when brought into a warm room, soon began to exhibit 

 signs of vivacity ; and the barbastclle, with the others, 

 fed readily on small bits of meat and drank water. 

 He was a timid animal, and did not evince the slightest 

 disposition to become acquainted with me. He would 

 take his food, however, with his companions, and was 

 accustomed to rest with them in a cluster at the top of 

 the box in which they were placed. The barbastclle 

 certainly became torpid more readily than any of the 

 others, and more completely so ; but when awake, 

 evinced extreme restlessness, and was incessantly biting 

 with great violence at the wires of his bos. When 

 suflered to fly about the room, he flew very low, and 

 less actively than any other under similar circum- 

 stances ; and he was fond of lying before the fire on the 

 hearth-rug, where he appeared quite to luxuriate in the 

 warmth. Whilst the long-eared bats shoAved much 

 attachment to each other, and became very familiar 

 with me, the barbastello remained sullen and apart, 

 until at length I found that he was an object of perse- 

 cution on the part of his more active companions, one 

 of whom I detected in the act of giving him a severe 

 bite on the back of the neck. This occasioned his 

 immediate removal to another box ; but tliis sharp 

 discipline probably hastened his death, which took 

 place about a week afterwards, though he continued to 

 eat till the day before he died. The specimen was a 

 male, and apparently an adult." The barbastclle has 

 been frequently captured in England ; but it is better 

 known on (he continent, especially in France. 



THE LONG-EARED BAT {Plecotus auritus).— This 

 is one of the most attractive members of the cheiropte- 

 rous famih', and, as its name implies, is possessed of 

 singularly-conspicuous auricular appendages. We 

 have purposely deferred the consideration of it until 

 now, because it exhibits marked affinities with the 

 family which will next occupj' our attention. In this 

 bat the ears are more than double the length of the 

 head, and very nearly as long as the entire body, being 

 about an inch and a half from base to apex ; the tragi, 

 or lesser ears, as they were termed by old authors, are 

 themselves about half an inch long. It is not, however, 

 in the mere extent of these appendages that their 

 attractiveness is to be considered ; it is rather owing 

 to their exquisite transparency, and the power the 

 creature possesses of expanding and conti-acting them 

 in such a manner as to produce the most elegant 

 festoon-like foldings, or, fi'om the regularity of the flex- 

 ures thus formed, ever and anon displaying a beautiful 

 feathery appearance (fig. 12). In a state of deep 

 repose the wings lie doubled up and concealed under 



