BRITISH MAMMALS 



THE NOCTULE, OR GREAT BAT 



Vesperugo noctula, Keyserling and Blasius. 

 Plate 3. 



The Noctule or Great Bat, about the largest of our British species — the 

 Serotine and Greater Horse-shoe alone approaching or equalling it in size — 

 measures in expanse of wings from 13 to 15 inches. 



The forehead is broad and low, the muzzle prominent and bulbous, so 

 much so that the eyes are hidden in a full-face view of the head. The 

 nostrils are surrounded by a projecting ridge, the ears set widely apart are 

 broad and rounded, their outer margins extending to below the corner of the 

 mouth. The tragus is short, broad, and rounded at the top. 



The jaws strong and wide and furnished with powerful teeth, thirty-four 

 in number. 



The wings are long, but narrower than in the Serotine and have usually 

 a tract of fine golden hair below the forearm. 



The tail projects very little beyond the interfemoral membrane, and the 

 post-calcarial lobe is large. 



The fur, which is very soft and silky in texture, is a fine golden brown 

 in colour, with little difference in the shade of the upper and lower parts. 

 The animal has a disagreeable musky odour. 



A specimen obtained in October shortly before hibernating, and 

 figured in the Plate, had become very fat, in preparation for its winter 



sleep. 



16 



