THE BATS 99 



to the margin of the ear. The forehead is very hairy ; but the 

 nose is naked and smooth and prominent, extending a little 

 distance beyond the lower lip. The muffle is wet, and the 

 nostrils open at the side. The ears are inclined backwards, 

 and are long and somewhat oval in shape. The tragus is erect, 

 slightly curved, and rather sharp-pointed. The lower part of 

 the inner margin of the ear is hairy. There is a slight moustache 

 on the upper lip, and the area between the eye and the nostrils 

 is swollen. The wing membrane arises from near the base of the 



Head of Common Continental Bat (Myotis myatis). Natural size. 



toes. The interfemoral membrane is covered with hair on the 

 basal half of its upper surface. The first upper premolar tooth 

 is small as compared to the third, and the middle premolar still 

 smaller, and set rather back. The general colour of the body is 

 pale reddish-brown above, and grayish-white beneath. The outer 

 side of the ears is grayish, the inner yellowish. The colour of 

 the membrane differs markedly from that of the bats hitherto 

 described, in that it is not blackish, but pale yellowish-brown. 



This bat only produces a single young at a birth, generally 

 at the end of May. It frequents buildings and caverns, and it 

 does not resort to forests or trees, nor does it associate with 



