46 



ORDER CHIROPTERA.— GENUS VESPERTILIO. 



Prey solely on insects. 



Inhabit all countries of the world, with the exception of Australia. 



The Common Bats have the muzzle devoid of a nose-leaf, and 

 of any other distinctive mark ; the ears are (generally) separated ; 

 they have four incisors above, of which the two mesial are some- 

 what separated, and six below, which are cutting and indented ; the 

 tail is included within the membranes. This subgenus is the most 

 numerous of all, and species are found in every part of the world ; 

 there are six or seven in France alone. Some have the tragus awl- 

 shaped. 



Differing from what we have seen in so many genera, the incisors are, 

 in the Bats Proper, at all periods of their life regularly four above and 

 six below : if ever wanting, it is the result of accident, or extreme old 

 age. The four upper ones are arranged in pairs, and are always at some 

 little distance from the canines ; the inner ones are the larger. The in- 

 termaxillary bone, though rudimentary, is larger than in the Nycticeji, 

 and is to more than half its extent ossified with the maxillary. The six 

 inferior are always crowded, and bi-lobed or tri-lobed. The canines are 

 strong, often triangular, and always smooth, and without a head. Great 

 differences occur as to the number of false molars, chiefly from the intru- 

 sion of the other teeth : in the upper jaw there are sometimes none, 

 sometimes two, and they vary from one to two in the lower, and are both 

 sometimes exceedingly small. The true molars are invariably four, both 

 above and below, so that the difference in the number of molars arises 

 solely from the varieties in the false molars. The cranium of the Bats 

 Proper is more compressed and elongated than that of the Nycticejus ; 

 their muzzle is less obtuse, and the chanfrin more compressed ; these cir- 

 cumstances, along with the greater narrowness of the zygomatic arches, 

 causes their whole physiognomy greatly to differ. 



All the species of Vespertilio, without scarcely an exception, are, like 

 the Rhinolophi, and some other of the frugivorous Bats, provided with 

 odoriferous glands, which distil an unctuous fluid more or less disagree- 

 able, according to the species ; these glands, unlike what occurs in the 

 Roussettes, are found in both sexes, and are placed sometimes before the 

 eyes, sometimes above them, or near the muzzle ; sometimes they are nu- 

 merous, and cover most of the side of the head. The intolerable smell 

 is sometimes so powerful as to direct us from a great distance to the place 

 of their retreat. Referring to the particulars stated in the introductory 

 remarks on the Insectivorous group, (p. 15,) respecting the singular fact 

 of the males, the females, and the young, isolating themselves for a great 

 part of the year, we have only to add, that the European Bats usually 

 associate again together towards the period of their hybernation, which 

 often continues throughout the winter, though sometimes interrupted by 

 a few days of mild weather, and that then, whole families, or rather great 

 masses of individuals, link themselves confusedly together in retreats, 

 where they are protected from the intensity of the cold. 



According to M. Temminck, these Bats Proper present a somewhat 

 anomalous circumstance in respect to their reproduction. Whilst the 

 frugivorous Chiroptera produce but one at a birth, some species of these 

 Bats have generally two, whilst others have only one, and others either 

 periodically or accidentally, all produce sometimes the former number 

 and sometimes the latter, which last observation has been made espe- 

 cially upon our first species, V. Noctula. When engaged in rearing their 

 young, the females fix their arm-hook, and bind the tail under the ab- 

 domen ; thus the interfemoral membrane forms a sac, and supplies a nest 

 for the young, in which it is carried about in all the flights of the mo- 

 ther. In some of the frugivorous Bats we have previously noticed a not 

 less curious or effective provision made for the care of the young. 



Another trait we must mention of these Proper Bats, which is also seen 

 in the Rhinolophi, and probably in all the Insectivorous Chiroptera with 

 a long tail; it is, that they employ this member as we should do our finger, 

 to introduce their prey into their mouth, or rather their throat, when it 

 is at all of large dimensions, and by its exertions might otherwise escape ; 

 they approximate it to the head, bend their neck, and thus secure their 

 victim. Thus, the tail has considerable influence on the habits of the dif- 

 ferent groups, and in the true Bats it is always formed on but one model, 

 though it is different in those which really form distinct genera. 



The number of species in the Genus Vespertilio is so great, that, 

 even with the help of a somewhat minute description, (good figures being 

 wanting,) there i= a risk of their being confounded, and it is no longer 

 possible to distinguish them according to the laconic Linnsean method. 

 At the same time, regard must be had to the patience of the reader and 

 the expense of publication ; and, accordingly, we have determined, by 

 some trifling alterations and curtailments, considerably to reduce the space 



occupied in description, without infringing on the information absolutely 

 required for the distinguishing of species. Moreover, to avoid the con- 

 fusion which might arise from the multitude of ascertained species, we 

 shall, after the example of Temminck, subdivide the present genus ac- 

 cording to the four great geographic divisions of the globe, and admit 

 a fifth, if any of the group are discovered, as has not hitherto been 

 the case, in the regions of Australasia. It is incontestible that species of 

 this genus are found in all countries of the globe, with the exception of 

 Australia, and that they are common to all climates, a result evidently 

 contrary to the law of Zoological Geography indicated by Buffon, and 

 admitted by many modern Zoologists. 



Of the seventy-eight species that are now unexceptionably ascertained, 

 twenty-eight belong to Europe, nine to Africa, to which we must add 

 two common to it and Europe ; twenty. four to Asia and India, to which 

 two must also be added as found in Europe ; and seventeen well known in 

 America. To these, many unsatisfactorily described are still to be con- 

 joined, so that the number of indicated species will be about 100. The 

 genus Plecolus, as founded merely on the comparative length of the Ear, 

 we altogether reject. 



Section I. The European Species. 



First, 



Those which belong to the British Fauna. 



1. VESPERTILIO NOCTULA THE NOCTULE BAT. 1 



This species was first described by M. Daubenton inthe Mem. de l'Acad. 

 1759, and has since been noticed by all systematic authors, foreign and 

 domestic. The ears are ovato-triangular, and shorter than the head ; 

 the tragus small and incurvate ; the head large and round, fur short, 

 reddish brown all over ; membranes dark coloured. 



The fur of this species is of medium length, silky and shining, cover- 

 ing underneath a portion of the side membrane. The upppr parts of the j 

 body are of a beautiful lively and shining red colour in both sexes ; be- 

 neath the red is lighter, and that on the wing brown. On the Conti- 

 nent the length is about five inches, including the tail, and the expanse 

 upwards of fifteen ; in Britain the size is less. 



This species is very widely spread abroad, and is more common in the 

 central parts of Europe than in the extreme north and south. It is pro- 

 bably distributed over all the temperate parts of Asia, and it is impos- 

 sible to recognize any distinction between those of Japan and Holland. 

 It lives in towns and the country, in old buildings and trees. Pennant 1 

 mentions that under the eaves of Queen's College, Cambridge, 1S5 were 

 taken one night, sixty-three the next, and two the next. They huddle 

 together by hundreds during their winter hybernation, and have a very \ 

 disagreeable odour (Figured in Bonap. Faun. Ital.) 



2. VESPERTILIO LEISLERIL— LEISLER'S BAT. 



Although there is a specimen of this species in the collection of the 

 British Museum, yet, as its origin is doubtful, it does not clearly appear 

 that it is indigenous in Britain. On the Continent it exclusively inha- 

 bits the country, and appears to be solitary in its habits, rarely associating 

 with other species ; its habitual retreat is the hollows of forest trees, 

 and the neighbourhood of stagnant pools. It is common in Germany, 

 but has not been noticed either in Holland or France. 



Leisler's Bat is about a third less in size than the foregoing species ; 

 the ears are very round, and the forehead and chanfrin depressed ; the 

 toes of the feet are very short, and the short tail is without a free 

 point ; there are glands conspicuous on the sides of the muzzle. The 

 total length is about four inches ; the expanse extends to about twelve. 

 The fur is bicoloured throughout, long, and freely covering the side 

 membranes and origin of the interfemoral, especially beneath. The 

 hair of the upper partis brown at the root and reddish at the point; 

 beneath it is blackish brown at the root, and brownish grey at the tip. 



3. VESPERTILIO DISCOLOR THE PARTI-COLOURED BAT. 



Dr Natterer discovered this species in the south of Germany, and consi- 

 ders it the most beautiful of European species. It abounds in the southern 

 and eastern parts of the Continent, but is very rare in Britain and the north- 

 ern parts. The specimen in the British Museum was taken in Plymouth, 

 and M. Temminck informs us it is never found in Holland. The dimen- 

 sions are about a fourth less than the Noctule. The forehead is very 

 hairy, the muzzle broad, long, and tumid ; the nose thick and broad ; the lip 

 thick, the upper furnished with small hairs ; the ears broad, roundish, but 

 triangular, bent outwards, and extending to the angle of the mouth, and 

 half covered with thick fur ; the tip of the tail is free. The fur is short 

 and lustrous. The upper parts of the adult are veined longitudinally, 



i Considering the immense number of species in this genus, our readers will excuse us for curtailing the lists of Synonyms, and altering our style of topograph y. 



