THE BATS 



103 



commencement of those conditions which invest so many bats with 



growths of cartilage above and around the nostrils. The nostrils 



open upwards in this groove, and the naked space extends along 



the bridge of the nose. Below the 



nostrils are a couple of deep vertical 



grooves extending to the lip, the 



space between these grooves being 



swollen. The cheeks are distended, 



and are covered with black hair. 



The length of these bats is about 



2 in. from the nose to the base of 



the tail, and the tail is about i|- in. 



long. The teeth differ in number 



from those of the genus Myotis in 



-'. ;>^)^>i^ 



Head of Barbastelle Bat 

 i^Barbastella barbastellus). 

 Note ear membranes joining over fore- 

 the loss of a pair of premolars in l>ead, groove along nose and eyes fairly 

 1 . , , . /. . , . close together. Twice natm-al size. 



each jaw, the total number or grinding 



teeth, therefore, being only five pairs in each jaw, instead of six. 

 Of the two pairs of upper incisors, the innermost pair is much 

 longer than the outermost. The outermost incisors are small, 

 simple, and sharp-pointed. The innermost incisors are divided 

 into two cusps. The feet are slender, with long toes. 



Barbastella barbastellus. The Barbastelle Bat 



The description of the genus may be applied to this species, 

 about which it may be said additionally that the fur is soft and 

 deep black, with a grayish tinge on the surface caused by the tips 

 of the hairs being that colour. The region 

 round the genital organs is of a whitish-brown 

 colour, and fine hairs of grayish-white grow 

 sparsely on each side of the flying membrane, 

 the skin of which is dusky black in colour. 

 This is also the tint of the naked skin on the 

 face, so that in average aspect the Barbastelle 

 is the blackest of British bats. A perfecdy white specimen of 

 the barbastelle, and another in which the body was black, while 

 the head and membrane were pure white, were seen and noted 



Nose and Muzzle of 



Barbastelle Bat 



(3 times life size). 



