PIT-NOSE BAT. 147 
It remains to explain the reason of the term 
Vampyre, by which the above large species has 
been distinguished. 
A Vampyre is an imaginary monster, supposed 
to suck the blood of sleeping persons. It also 
alludes to one of the most absurd superstitions 
that ever entered into the human mind. About 
the year 1732 an idea arose among the vulgar in 
some parts of Poland and Hungary, that certain 
bodies when interred, became possessed of the 
power of absorbing blood from those who were so 
unfortunate as to pass over or stand near their 
graves , it was, therefore, supposed necessary to 
disinter such bodies and wound them with a 
sword, by which means this pernicious power was 
supposed to be put a stop to, and the blood they 
had unjustly gained was evacuated. Astonishing 
as this folly may appear, it is yet more astonishing 
that a great many treatises were written on the 
subject, and that some considerable time elapsed 
before the superstition was completely destroyed. 
PIT-NOSE BAT. 
Vespertilio Speoris. Sckreb. supph 
Vespertilio caudatus y fossula frontali trans'versa. 
Tailed Bat, with a transverse frontal cavity. 
This species, from Mr. Schreber's representa- 
tion, appears to be about the size of the common 
Bat, which it also resembles in its general aspect. 
