83 



5-5 -^1, 5-5 ^1. B-6 

 5-51 "•■^ f-T) "'^ 6-6 



. „; or j:|, or ^:^, or 



teeth in all, 32, 34, 36, or 38. Known from all others of the family by the four, 

 instead of two, upper incisors. Four sub-genera are based on the vary- 

 ing molar dentition. Our species fail in the sui)-genus Vesperus (m. |-|), 



Vespeetilio subulatus Say. 

 Little Bkown Bat. 



1823. V<spfrHtio svbulains, Say, Lon'g's Expl R. Mts., 1823, 65.— Harlan, 

 Pn. Am., 1825, 22.— Rich., F. B. A., i, 1829, 3.— Godman, Am. 

 Nat. Hist., i, 1831, 71.— Cooper, Ann. Lye. N. Y., 1837, iv,61.— De 

 Kay, Nat. Hift., N. Y., 1842, 8.— LeConte, Proc. Phila. Acad., 

 1855, 436.— H. Allen, Monog., 51.— J. A. Allen, Bull. Mus. Com. 

 ZooL, i, 210.— Id., Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., xvii, June, 1874.— 

 Jordan, Man. Vert., 1878, 22. — Coues and Yarrow, Geog. and 

 Geolog, Expl. and Surv. West lOOth Merid., v, 1876, 96. 



1835. Vei'iiertilio cavoli, Ten.m., Monog., ii, 1835, 236. 



. Vdftrtilio dcweiiicus, Greene, Cab. Nat. Hist., ii, 290. 



Specific Characters. — Length 3 inches, often less; expanse of wings, 8 to 

 9; tail about 1.60; fore-arm equal tail; longest linger 2 to 2.66; ear usu- 

 ally .40, but from .30 to .75. Molars |:|; teeth 38 in all; upper incisors 

 paired off close to canines, a median space intervening; middle pair 

 markedly bifid, the lateral ones obscurely or not so; lower canines with 

 small basal cusp posteriorly; first two upper premolars small, last one 

 arger, compressed, and bicuspid, the large outer cusp longer than any 

 point of the true molars; lower premolars small, especially the two front 

 ones. Skull thin and papery, crestless, with inflated cranial, and prolonged 

 rostral part, giving a small face, high forehead, pointed muzzle, and foxy 

 or terrier-like physiognomy. Pace moderately whiskered. Ears rather 

 large, oval in general contour. Tragus about half as high as auricle ; 

 upright, or nearly so ; lanceolate. Extreme tip of tail more or less obvi- 

 ously exserted. Interfemoral membrane naked on dorsal surface, except 

 a triangular patch of fur at its base, continuous with the covering of the 

 back. Wing-membranes naked, very delicate, thin, almost diaphanous; 

 usually rather brown than blackish. Fur dark plumbeous at base; at 

 tip varying from quite dark to yellowish-brown, usually palest on the bellyi 

 The Little Brown Bat is one of the two most abundant North Amer- 

 ican Bats. Dr. Coues states that as many as ten thousand, by actual 

 count, have been destroyed in one building. The same author in- 

 cludes in this species several forms described either by Dr. Allen, Le- 

 Conte, or others, as distinct species. Two varieties of ordinary suhulaius, 

 however, are recognizable : one, evotis, slender, with large ears and pointed 

 snout ; the other, lucifugus, stout, with smaller ears and blunted snout. 



