6 MAMMALIA. CHEIROPTERA. Vespertilio. 
the upper jaw concealed — According to Dr Leach, “ it is a very cautious ani- 
mal; very easily tamed, but fond of concealing itself. It frequents the higher 
parts of the caverns in which it occurs, and probably flies higher than the 
preceding spmes.” 
B. Nostrils destitute of appendages. Ears with an inner 
auricle. 
Gen. II. VESPERTILIO. — Ears disjoined. Incisors in the 
lower jaw six, approximate, bifid ; in the upper four, in 
pairs, cylindrical, pointed. 
3. V. murinus. Common Bat. — Ears the length of the head, 
oblong, auricles semicordate. 
Vesp. a Bat; Flitter-mouse or Eear-mouse, Merr. Pin. 172 — Ray., Syn. 
Quad. 243.: — Penn. Brit. -Zool. i. 148, — Inhabits old buildings and caves. 
Common. 
This animal was placed by Merret among the birds, and is still by many 
thoughtlessly regarded as belonging to that class. Its covering of hair, in- 
stead of feathers, the bringing forth its young alive, and suckling them at the 
two teats placed upon its breast, are characters which, independent of other ac- 
tions, remove it far from the feathered tribes. According to White (Hist. Selb. 
156.), when tamed, so as to take flies out of a person’s hand, it brought its wings 
round before the mouth, hovering and hiding its head in the manner of birds 
of prey. It rejected the wings of flies. Ate raw meat. Was capable of rising 
from a floor, and taking wing with ease. It drinks on the wing like swallows, 
by sipping the surface as it plays over pools and streams. 
4. V. emarginatus. — Ears the length of the head, oblong, 
with a notch on the exterior margin. 
M. Geoffrey., Ann. du Mus. vol. viii. p. 198. tab. xlvi — Near Dover, 
M. A. Brongniart, Fife, Fleming. 
This species was first separated from the preceding, with which it is apt to 
be confounded, by the author whom we have quoted. It is not uncommon in 
France. The auricle is subulated. 
5. V. Noctula. Great Bat.— Ears shorter than the head, tri- 
angular, nostrils bilobated, chin with a wart. 
Vesp. altivolans, White's Selb. i. 130. & 158 — ^V. auriculatus. Walker's 
Essays, 472 — Great Bat, Penn. Br. Zool. i. 146. tab. xiii. No. 38. 
— First observed in England by White., and in Scotland by Walker. 
According to White, this species flies high in the air, from the end of 
April to end of July. Body to the end of the tail 4 | inches. Extent of wing 
14| inches. Weight 9 drachms. The fur soft, of a bright chesnut colour. 
Smell offensive. Dr Walker says, “ Dentes xxxii numeravimus. Primores 
superiores 4 acuti, distantes ; inferiores 4 acuti, contigui. Laniarii supe- 
xiores 6, anticis maximis acutis; inferiores 6, anticis majoribus. Molares utrin- 
que 6. Aures duplicatae, capite muito minores. Exterior major, ovata, ob- 
tusa- Interior minor, brevior, lanceolata. Palmce palmaio-alatae maximae, 
pollice unguiculato. Plantm pentadactyloe, fissae, digitis pilosis, unguiculatis. 
Cauda geniculaia, 6 articulis. Membrana juxta caudam, margine ciliato. E 
iatebris volitat circa 20. Aprilis.” 
