40 



ORDER CHIROPTERA—- RHINOPOMA.— . TAPHOZOUS. 



the Vampire. In the morning, the spot where the bite had been inflicted 

 was easily distinguisbed from being slightly swollen and bloody. The 

 third day afterwards we rode the horse, without any ill effects." 



"The structure of this animal," says Mr Waterhouse, "is found per- 

 fectly to correspond with its habits. There is a total absence of true 

 molars, [which, however, must surely have been accidental,] and consequent 

 want of the power of masticating food. On the other hand, the canines 

 and incisors are perfectly fitted for inflicting a wound, while the small size 

 of the interfemoral membrane, giving freedom to the legs, together with 

 the unusually large thumb and claw, enable the Bat to fix itself with se- 

 curity to the body of its prey." 



GENUS XVIII. RHINOPOMA LID-NOSE BATS. 



Syn. Les Rhinopomes. — Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 119. — Geoff. Collect, du Mus. 

 — Desm. Mam. p. 129, et al. 



GENERIC CHARACTERS. 

 T„ E D ENT A^OR MWL A^-±gi|^L = j|^S 



The Nose long, conical, truncated ; Nose-leaf small ; Nostrils nar- 

 row, transversal, and covered with a lid. 



The Chanfrin broad and concave. 



The Ears large, united, and connected with face ; the Tragus exter- 

 nal. 



The Interfemoral Membrane narrow and truncated. The Tail 

 long, and free towards the tip. 



Inhabits Egypt. 



The fossa upon the chanfrin of the Rhinopoma is less marked 

 than in the preceding genus, Nycteris ; the nostrils, at the end of 

 the snout, and the small lid which overhangs them, resemble the 

 knife used in dressing the hoofs of horses ; their ears are united, 

 and their tail extends considerably beyond the membrane. Only 

 one species is as yet ascertained, which was found among the pyra- 

 mids. 



1. RHINOPOMA MICROPHYLLUM SMALL-LEAF LID-NOSE 



BAT. 



Syn. et Icon. Rhinopome MICROPHYLLE Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 119 Desm. 



Mam. No. 193 Geoff. Descript. de l'Egypte, Part. d'Hist. 



Nat. II. 

 Vespertilio microphyllus Brunnich Descript. du Cabinet 



de Copenhague, p. 50, tab. 6, fig. 1, 2, 3, 4. — Schreb. 

 Chauve-souris d'Egypte Belon de la Nature des Oiseaux, liv. 



2, chap. 39. 



SPECIFIC characters. 

 The Hair ash-coloured. 

 The Tail very long and slender. 

 Inhabits Egypt. 



This Bat is rather more than two inches long, the tail being about two 

 more ; its extreme breadth is about eight inches. Its fur is long and 

 thick, of an ash-colour ; the tail, which is composed of eleven vertebrae, 

 is black and smooth, and far surpasses the interfemoral membrane, which 

 is extremely short ; and receives no support from tarsal spurs. The nos- 

 trils and upper lip exhibit an apparatus which is sufficiently complicated, 

 and which projects beyond the jaw ; they appear truncated at the extre- 

 mity, and terminate in a kind of circular fold, surmounted by a small 

 leaflet, and pierced in the centre by two oblique clefts, which are the 

 nasal apertures, and which, at the will of the animal, are very conspicu- 

 ously opened and closed, as occurs in Seals. The leaflet, at the upper 

 part of the nasal cartilage, also moves separately. The nostrils, which 

 are prolonged across the lip of the upper jaw, are very narrow, and ter- 

 minate in a chamber which is very short, but greatly widened by the curve 

 of the intermaxillary bone above. The intermaxillary bone is entire, and 

 fixed firmly into the maxillaries. The two upper incisors are wide asunder ; 

 the four lower are crowded. The ear projects anteriorly, and unites with 

 hs fellow. The tragus is on the edge of the meatus, projecting somewhat 

 externally. 



Belon was the first who discovered this Bat, and in the pyramids of 

 Cairo. Hasselquist alluded to some which were taken in the pyramid of 

 Gyzeh, but which were for a long time overlooked, until again described 

 in the year 1782 by Brunnich. M. Geoffroy found this species in many 

 of the tombs of Upper Egypt; he observed that, when provoked, it was 

 •very irritable, like our European Bats ; but that when at liberty, what 

 most attracted attention was the movementof its nostrilscorrespondingwith 

 that of the chest ; sometimes closing them so completely that no trace 

 can be seen, and then covering them with its leaflet. 



doubtful species. 



1. M. Geoffroy states, that he believes there is a second species of the 

 same genus in Egypt, which differs from the former chiefly in having a 

 shorter tail, and a less acute snout. He does not supply a name for it. 



2. Rhinopoma Caroliniensis. (Geoff. Collect, du Mus Desm. Mam. 



No. 194.) 



A specimen of this animal was presented to the Paris Natural History 

 Museum by M. Brongniart, who thought, although by no means certain, 

 that it came from Carolina. In length and breadth it corresponds with 

 the microphyllum ; its tail, however, is only one and a half inch long ; its 

 ears are somewhat triangular in shape, and do not appear to coalesce; 

 the lower incisors are described as bi-lobed. The fur is brown, and the 

 membranes dark. 



3. Rhinopoma Hardwickii. Gray, Zool. Misc. 37 Mag. of Zool. 



and Bot. II. 486. 



Dark brown, rather paler beneath ; tail longer than the body, more 

 than two-thirds free. Inhabits Bengal. General Hardwicke's Collec- 

 tion ; the Collection of the British Museum. Such is Mr Gray's de- 

 scription. 



GENUS XIX. TAPHOZOUS WING-POUCHED BATS. 



Syn. Taphozous Reg. Anim. I. 119 Geoff. Mem. de l'lnsr. d'Egypte 



Hist. Nat. II. 129: et al. 

 Vespertilio. — Schreb. Bluller, — Saccopteryx. — (Taschelfittig.) — Illig. 

 Prodr. p. 121. 



generic characters. 



The Dental Formula 'I C-HgF+SW^lg 

 |2+C+(2F+3)M 16 



The Chanfrin furrowed, but without overlapping edges or lids. 



The Nose destitute of a nose-leaf. 



The Upper-Lip very thick. The Muzzle produced. 



The Ears of moderate size. The Operculum internal. 



The Interfemoral Membrane large and salient. The Tail com- 

 posed of six vertebra?, not so long as the membrane, and free on its up- 

 per side. 



Inhabits the Old and New Continents. 



The Taphiens have a rounded fossa on the chanfrin; but their 

 nostrils are not furnished with any projecting lamina;; their head 

 is pyramidal ; and they have only two incisors above, (?) which 

 are often wanting. They have four lower incisors, which are tri- 

 lobed ; their ears do not meet, and their tail is free above the mem- 

 brane. The males have a transversal cavity under the throat, (?) and 

 a slight prolongation of their alar membrane forms a kind of pouch 

 near the carpus. M. Geoffroy discovered one of the species in the 

 catacombs of Egypt. 



This genus, as hinted above, was established by M. Geoffroy in the 

 grand work of L'Institut d'Egypte. Recent examination has demon- 

 strated that it has no incisors in the upper jaw ; the four lower ones are 

 tri-lobed. The canines are distinct, long, and conical. 



I. TAPHOZOUS PERFORATUM— PERFORATED WING- 

 POUCHED BAT. 



Syn. Taphozous perforatus Geoff. Descript. d'Egypte, Hist. Nat. II. 126. 



— Fisch. p. 120. 

 Le Taphien perfore Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 120 -Desm. Mam. No. 



197.— Less. Mam. No. 191. — Gray, in Mag. Zool. and Bot. II. 



499. 

 Icon, Geoffroy, loc. cit. pi. III. fig. 1. — (Skeleton and cranium,) fig. 4,4, 4. 



specific characters. 



The Hair reddish-grey above, ash-coloured beneath. 

 The Operculum in the form of a hatchet. 

 Inhabits Egypt. 



The muzzle of this species is obtuse ; the tail is longer than the thigh 

 bone; the spur which supports the interfemoral membrane is longer than 

 the foot; the operculum, or tragus, is in shape of a hatchet, and ter- 

 minates in a round edge ; the ears are oblong. The upper lip extends 

 somewhat beyond the lower jaw ; the nasal apertures are very narrow, 

 of a circular form, and partly covered by a membrane. The chanfrin is 

 hollowed out. The fur is plentiful ; the roots of the hair are all white ; 

 but the points being coloured, the upper parts are reddish-grey, and the 

 lower ash-coloured. The length of the head and body is somewhat more 

 than three inches ; the extreme breadth nearly ten. 



