VAMPIRE BATS 
63 
bats, the others as the short-nosed vampires. 
The centre of abundance of these creatures ap- 
pears to be the valleys of the Amazon and the Rio 
Negro, and the adjacent regions; but one of the 
species ranges all the way from Chile to Mexico. 
Of the true vampires, the Javelin Bat 1 is 
the one which is most aggressive, and most 
dreaded. It bites horses and cattle, usually on 
the shoulders, neck or hindquarters, and makes 
a wound in the skin of sufficient depth to cause 
blood to flow freely, even after the bat has flown 
away. Naturally, an animal that is thus preyed 
upon soon grows thin in flesh, and becomes 
visibly weakened. On the island of Mucina, in 
the delta of the Amazon, the serious injuries in- 
flicted by the Javelin Bats upon 
domestic animals have long been 
known. 
But where true vampires are 
abundant, they do not confine 
their attacks to domestic animals. 
Human beings are occasionally 
called upon to pay blood tribute 
to the small wing-handed demons 
of the air. Men are bitten at 
night, when asleep, usually either 
upon the nose, or the feet. With 
its sharp-edged teeth, the creat- 
ure makes a very small round 
hole in the skin, and by means of 
mouth suction which must be quite powerful, 
the blood is soon flowing freely. Fortunately, 
blood-poisoning is not an attendant evil of the 
Vampire’s bite, and the wound seldom becomes 
painful. 
The common Javelin Bat measures a little 
less than 4 inches in length of head and body, 
and in color is reddish brown. All the other 
true vampires are smaller, and all are practically 
tailless, the parachute membrane stretching 
between the legs, quite down to the feet, without 
the support of tail vertebrae. Naturally, these 
creatures are widely known; for any bat which 
lives upon warm blood, always drawn from a liv- 
ing fountain, is bound to acquire wide notoriety 
and a very evil reputation. The skull of a Jave- 
lin Bat, seen in profile, looks very much like the 
skull of a miniature wolf. 
In order to illustrate once more how easily 
a harmless animal can acquire an evil reputa- 
1 Phyl-los'to-ma, has-ta' turn. 
tion, and further emphasize the necessity of tak- 
ing direct evidence before pronouncing a verdict, 
we introduce a 28-inch bat from South America, 
most unjustly called the Great Vampire , 2 but 
not really belonging to the genus of blood-suck- 
ers. Mr. H. W. Bates, the “Naturalist on the 
Amazon,” lived for a time where this species was 
quite abundant, and of it he wrote in his book as 
follows : 
“Nothing in animal physiognomy can be 
more hideous than the countenance of this creat- 
ure when viewed from the front; the large, 
leathery ears standing out from the sides and top 
of the head; the erect, spear-shaped appendage 
[nose-leaf] on the tip of the nose, the grin, and the 
glistening black eye, all combining to make up 
a figure that reminds one of some mocking imp 
in a fable. [The very savage-looking canine 
teeth might well have been mentioned, also.] 
No wonder that imaginative people have in- 
ferred diabolical instincts on the part of so ugly 
an animal. The Vampire, however, is the most 
harmless of all bats.” Mr. Bates opened the 
stomachs of a number of specimens, and found 
that “they had been feeding chiefly on fruits,” 
and wild fruits, at that, obtained by honest 
hunting in the depths of the forest. 
Moral: Never make an affidavit on the food 
habits of wild animals without first examining 
the stomachs of several specimens. 
THE FAMILY OF FREE-TAILED BATS. 
Emballonuridae. 
The bats belonging to this Family have no 
nose-leaves, and the tail is partly free from the 
2 Vam-py'rus spec'lrum. 
BONNETED BAT. 
Promops calif ornicus. (After Harrison Allen.) 
