56 



Vespektilionid.e.- 



-MAMMALU.- 



- RlIINOT.OPHIDiE. 



beneath the stars, leavinr/ oitr spoil lialf-eaten and 

 cormpt! " Such in brief are the sentiments conveyed 

 by the poet Virgil, who usually speaks of our cheirop- 

 terous friends as so many " dreadful and filthy birds" 

 {dircB obscenccque vohicres) ; in one place, however, 

 a character is introrluced in the form of an ill-starred 

 proplietess, who advocates their cause, calling them 

 " innocent harpies (insontes harpyias)." 



In conclusion we may remark, that dur- 

 ing the state of repose, the long-eared bat 

 is generally found in old buildings and 

 under the roofs of houses, and when on 

 the wing it emits a sharp shrill cry. If 

 placed on the ground, it moves forward 

 by a peculiar jerking action from side to 

 side, at the same time keeping the head 

 well raised. In the published catalogue 

 of Mammalia preserved in the British 

 Museum, tliis species is denominated Ple- 

 cotus communis. 



THE SWIFT-FLYING THICK-LIPPED BAT {Mulos- 

 siis vdo.r), riate 5, tig. 19. Tliis species lives on the 

 Brazilian continent, and certain of the adjoining West 

 Indian islands. In common with several others of the 

 cheiropterous group inhabiting the north-east coast of 

 South America, it is usually known as the Bull-dog 

 Bat, but this latter term is now better understood 

 to apply exclusively to that particular species of 

 the so called bull dog-bats, which is indicated in 

 the catalogue of Mammalia preserved in the British 

 Museum under the title of Noctilio Americanus — a bat 

 also obtained from the coast of Brazil. The genus 

 Molossus is marked by the presence of large ears and 

 a short head, which is abrupt and swollen at the 

 muzzle. The tail is long, and projects beyond the 

 square-shaped intercrural membrane. The teeth are 

 twenty-eight in number, that is, four incisors, four 

 canines, and five molars on either side of the upper 

 and lower jaws. 



Family II.— EIIINOLOnilD^. 



The group of bats associated under this head, though 

 correctly separated into a distinct family, do not, in 

 their habits at least, depart very materially from the 

 insectivorous Vespertilionids already described. Their 

 distinguishing characteristic consists in the possession 

 of a membranous appendage, which in some species 

 is remarkably complicated. In those instances where 

 this membrane is double, the form of the anterior 

 division is more or less heart-shaped, the posterior 

 division having the aspect of an erect lanceolate leaf 

 with the apex directed towards the forehead. The 

 ears are invariably large, separated from one another, 

 and destitute of that usually narrow process called the 

 tragus. Occupying the situation of this latter struc- 

 ture, however, we frequently find a lobed and projec- 

 ing membrane developed from the base of the external 

 margin of the auricle. 



THE GREATER HORSE-SHOE BAT {RhinolopJius 

 Fcrnnn-cqidiiuiii). — The family characters above given 

 sufficiently explain the general form of the integu- 

 mentary appendage which constitutes so conspicuous a 



feature in this and other members of the horee-shoo 

 bats, and imparts to them a strikingly hideous aspect 

 (figs. 11 and 13). The greater horse-shoe bat is about 



Fig. 13. 



y 



The (Jreater Horse-shoe Bat ^Rhinnloplius terrum-equinnmj. 



two-and-a-half inches long, exclusive of the tail. The 

 head is elongated and swollen towards the muzzle ; 

 the anterior leaf-like appendage embraces the nostrils, 

 and has the remarkable horse-shoe shape from whence 

 the English name is derived. Between this and the 

 posterior lanceolated appendage, there is a cup-shaped 

 cavity surmounted by a sort of overlapping crest. 

 With respect to the use of these complicated struc- 

 tures, various suggestions have been offered ; but on 

 the whole, as we have already hinted, they are rather 

 to be regarded as extensions of the smelling surface, 

 with the view of accumulating odorous particles, than 

 as subserving any other office. In concealment this 

 bat is only found in the very darkest and most gloomy 

 recesses, where the light of day can gain no access, 

 and where a noiseless solitude reigns supreme. Na- 

 tural caverns among rocks, or subterranean chambers 

 artificially hewn out in quarries now long ago forsaken, 

 are its loved retreats. From these situations it issues 

 forth to seek its twilight repast on maychafers and 

 their insect associates. 



THE LESSER HORSE-SHOE BAT [Rhinolophus /lip- 

 posideros). — Both this and the foregoing are European 

 species and found in England, though neither of them 

 can be said to be very common. At one time the 

 present species was supposed to be only a variety of 

 the greater horse-shoe bat ; but naturalists no longer 

 entertain any doubts as to their respective distinctness 

 from one another. One of the principal marks b}' 

 which this form is distinguished, consists in the pre- 

 sence of an additional filiform nasal appendage placed 

 immediately in front of the ordinary lancet-shaped 

 process which occupies the frontal region. On account 

 of this structure, the eminent zoologist Geoffroy named 

 the species Rkinoloplnis biliastatus, while to the greater 

 horse-shoe bat he applied the specific title of Rhino- 

 loplius unilastatus. In other structural particulars, 

 and in their habits, the two kinds bear a very close 

 resemblance. 



