A HISTORY OF DEVONSHIRE 



CHEIROPTERA 



Polwhele evidently thought that there was 

 but one species of bat. ' The Bat,' he says, 

 'was placed by Pliny, Gesner and other 

 naturalists among the birds ; it is introduced 

 by naturalists of the present day among quad- 

 rupeds. Its flitting in the air has certainly 

 the appearance of flight. In this respect it 

 resembles a bird, but it approaches nearer to a 

 quadruped in possessing teeth, in being vivi- 

 parous and in suckling its young. In this 

 chapter therefore on the quadrupeds of Devon 

 I shall begin with the bat as a sort of link 

 between the birds and the beasts.'^ Old 

 Richard Polwhele would have been astonished 

 to know, if there had been any one to tell him, 

 that at the end of the nineteenth century 

 between four and five hundred species of ' the 

 Bat ' would be described.' Of these but few 

 are British, and only eight have been noted as 

 occurring in Devon. 



1. Greater Horse-shoe Bat. Rhinolophus fer- 



rum-equinum, Schreber. 



It is stated in both editions of Bell's 

 History of British ^adrupeds that the greater 

 horseshoe bat was first discovered as a British 

 species in this county, and this statement has 

 been followed by all writers on the subject 

 since. But an attempt to verify the quota- 

 tion, and a reference to the fourth edition of 

 Pennant's Zoology, i. 147, proves this to be a 

 mistake, and that the place where this animal 

 was found by Latham was not Dartmouth in 

 Devon, but Dartford in Kent. 



With us it has been noticed only along the 

 south coast. I have met with it at Hooe 

 near Plymouth, in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of Plymouth, and at Plympton, and Mon- 

 tagu found it in Kent's Cavern, Torquay, a 

 place it still frequents. Dr. Edward Moore 

 states that it has been found on Dartmoor, 

 but there is no evidence in support of this, 

 and it is not likely to be correct, there being 

 on Dartmoor no places suitable for the habitat 

 of members of this curious genus. Parfit also 

 mentions Chudleigh. 



2. Lesser Horse-shoe Bat. Rhinolophus hippo- 



siderus, Bechstein. 



The general distribution of this species is 

 much the same as that of R, ferrum-equinum. 

 In this county it appears to be rarer than its 

 larger relative. Like it, it has only been 



1 Polwhele's Devon, i. 125. 

 ^ Vide British Museum Catalogue of Cheiroptera 

 (G. E. Dobson, 1878). 



noticed in the south of the county, and in 

 almost the same localities. In Kent's Cavern 

 Montagu found both species in company. I 

 have only noticed it once in the neighbour- 

 hood of Plymouth, a specimen being caught 

 in a cave under the Hoe and kept alive by its 

 captor for some days ; this was as long ago as 

 April 1863. 



3. Long-eared Bat. Plecotus auritus, Linn. 



A common species throughout the county. 

 Early or late in the year, depending upon the 

 warmth of the season, it recovers from its 

 hibernation, and it continues on the wing as 

 late as November. In 1902 it was apparently 

 in flight the whole of the year. 



4. Barbastelle. Barbastella barbastellus, Schre- 



ber. 



Bell — Barbastellus daubentonii. 



Rare. It was first noticed by Colonel George 

 Montagu at Milton Abbot, and afterwards he 

 found it at Kingsbridge near his own residence. 

 But very few examples have since been re- 

 corded. 



5. Parti-coloured Bat. Vespertilio murinus, 



Linn. 

 An individual of this species captured at 

 Plymouth early in the nineteenth century was 

 sent by Dr. William Alfred Leach to the 

 British Museum where it now is. This is the 

 only notice of its occurrence in England. It 

 is a common European species. 



6. Great or White's Bat (Noctule). Pipis- 



trellus noctula, Schreber. 



Bell — Scotophilus noctula. 

 White — Vespertilio altivolans. 



Generally common from May to October. 

 In some years not observed at all or very 

 sparsely. This with the long-eared bat and 

 the pipistrelle may be said to be the three in- 

 digenous species of the county. The long- 

 eared bat is the most common, but the noc- 

 tule is not so often met with as the others. 



7. Pipistrelle or Common Bat, Pipistrellus 



pipistrellus, Schreber. 



Bell — Scotophilus pipistrellus. 

 Common throughout Devon except in 

 severe weather. The specimen {Vespertilio 

 pygnusus) found by Leach at Spitchwick is a 

 young example of this species. 

 7^. Natterer's Bat. Myotis nattereri, Kuhl. 



Recorded by J. E. Harting {Zool. 1889, 

 241). 



336 



