TIIE RED BAT. 
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whitish-grey, with the tips of the hairs red, producing a bay or reddish-brown tint on the back, whilst 
the head, neck, and shoulders show more of a greyish cast ; and that of the lower surface entirely grey. 
The membranes are of a reddish-brown colour, clothed above with hairs of the same tint on the basal 
part of the wings, and over the whole surface of the infeerfemoral membrane. The ears are broad, and 
rounded at the tip. This fine Bat has been observed in India, at 
Darjeling, and the Ivhasia Hills ; it is also an inhabitant of Java 
and Sumatra. 
The skull and jaws in the Harpy Bat exhibit indications of 
considerable strength ; in fact, the general aspect of the skull 
is very Dog-like, and the large size of the coronoid process of 
the lower jaw would seem to indicate that the whole is intended 
to form a powerful masticating apparatus. This notion is further 
borne out by the character of the teeth, which are very stout, the 
molars being furnished with short, blunt cusps, thickly coated with enamel, and admirably fitted to crush 
the hard cases of the Beetles, which appear, from the contents found in its stomach, to constitute the 
principal food of this Bat. Mr. Dobson remarks that “ as we become better acquainted with the habits 
of these animals, it will probably be found that the food of this species is restricted to certain species of 
Ooleoptera possessing extremely hard cases, which would effectually resist the feebler, although more 
acutely-pointed teeth of other Bats inhabiting the same localities. The form of the teeth, the great 
development of the coronoid process, and the shortness of the mandible, are all evidently subservient 
to the same object, and have been modified simultaneously to suit the food of the animal.” 
SKULL OF HAR1’Y RAT, ENLARGED. 
THE BED BAT.* 
The genus Atalaplia , to which the Bed Bat of North America belongs, is very nearly related to 
JVycticejus, and in fact its species have been not unfrequently placed in that genus. In general 
characters the two groups closely agree, but the head in Atalaplia is more elevated, and the inter- 
femoral membrane is wholly, or to a very considerable extent, clothed with hair. This latter character, 
with the presence of only two incisors in the upper jaw, serves at once to distinguish the species of 
this genus, which are confined, like those of Nycticejus, to the Western hemisphere. 
The Bed Bat is generally distributed over all the temperate parts of North America, even 
extending, according to Peters, as far north as the Aleutian islands, whilst Geoffroy and Temminck state 
that it occurs in Cayenne and Surinam. The head and body are usually rather less than two inches 
long, and the tail is of about the same length ; the expanse of wing is from eleven to twelve inches. 
There are two pre-molar and three molar teeth on each side. The ears are irregularly rounded, and the 
outer margin runs round upon the cheek, and forms a distinct lobe below the origin of the tragus, 
which is about half the height of the ear, and turns inwards at the point. The fur is long and silky, 
and is generally of a light russet colour, tinged with yellow, darker and richer 
on the back. The colour, however, varies, specimens being met with showing 
fawn-coloured and even yellowish-ashy tints. At each shoulder there is a tuft 
of white hair. The interfemoral membrane is entirely covered above, and half 
covered beneath, with hair of the same colour as that on the body. The mem- 
branes are of a rich brown colour, and the ears and lips are marked with yellow. 
The above furnishes indications only of the general effect produced, but each hair 
is dark lead-colour at the base, then yellowish-brown, passing into dark or bright 
red or chocolate colour, with the extreme tip generally white. Northern 
specimens usually show the darker tints, while those from warmer regions are more frequently of a 
bright red colour. 
Dr. Allen quotes the following anecdote, illustrating the force of the maternal instinct in this 
little Bat : — A lad had caught a young Bed Bat, which he took home with him. “ Three hours after- 
wards, in the evening, as he was conveying it to the museum, in his hand, while passing near the 
place where it was caught, the mother made her appearance, and followed the boy for two squares, 
40 
Atalaplia novceboracensis. 
