146 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



the lips, and still more in a smaller ear, which seems to be 

 an appendage to the anthelix ; it is placed in front of the 

 conch to protect the auditory conduit, and apparently to di- 

 rect the sounds thither by repercussion. The conch in the 

 middle part of the helix, has four or five folds, formed by 

 the motions it makes for the purpose of bending back upon 

 itself. 



The body, with the exception of the muzzle, the ears, 

 and a considerable portion of the membrane of the wings, 

 is covered with hairs, remarkably soft and fine, the true 

 character of which it is not very easy to determine. These 

 hairs are longer, and form a thicker covering on the shoul- 

 ders, the back, the flanks, the breast, and belly, than on the 

 head and tail. The colour is of a golden-brown, deeper on 

 the head, and paler on the lower parts. The naked parts 

 are of a violet-black. 



When the noctule is on the ground, the fore-arm is drawn 

 in towards the body, and the wrist, as well as the thumb, 

 rests upon the earth ; the folded fingers are extended at 

 full length along the external edge of the fore-arm, and are 

 concealed under the membrane of the sides. In this situa- 

 tion, the two last phalanges of the third finger are some- 

 what bent, as is also the last phalanx of the second. The 

 two others remain entirely extended, and the tail is bent 

 back under the belly, from the second or third vertebra. 

 When this animal walks, or rather drags itself along, these 

 various parts preserve the same positions, and strange to say, 

 they are the very same when the noctule, in a state of the 

 most absolute repose, is suspended by its hinder feet with 

 the head downwards. 



The individuals upon which the above observations were 

 made, were found in the hollow trunk of a poplar tree, by 

 M. Saulnier ; they were ten in number, in the upper part 

 of this cavity, which extended to a considerable height in 

 the trunk. These animals flew about the tree, and re- 



