TEE VAMPIRE BAT. 
cZ I 
THE JAVELIN BAT. * 
In the genus Phyllostoma the nasal appendages are well developed; there is a distinct horseshoe- 
shaped piece in front, and above the nostrils rises a large lance-shaped leaf. The middle of the lower 
lip shows a triangular naked patch with warty margins. The ears 
are of moderate length and quite separate ; the tail is much shorter 
than the inter fern oral membrane ; and the first phalanx of the 
middle finger is less than half the length of the metacarpal bone. 
There are, as usual in this family, four incisors in each jaw; the 
canines are large and powerful, and the lower jaw has only two 
premolars on each side. The true molars are well developed, and 
show strong W-shaped cusps. 
The Javelin Bat, which lives in all parts of tropical America, 
and also occurs in the West Indies, is a large species, measuring 
more than five inches in total length, and nearly twenty-three 
inches in expanse of wing. Its fur is usually of a uniform brown 
colour ; its ears of moderate size, somewhat pointed, strongly excavated on the outside below the apex, 
and with a lance-shaped tragus ; the short tail extends about one-third of the length of the inter- 
femoral membrane, which is stretched straight across between the long heel-spurs. 
We have already referred at some length to the habits of this species in connection with the 
charge of blood-sucking that has been brought against it, and stated that when examined only remains 
of insects are found in its stomach. It is described as having a lofty and powerful, although not rapid 
flight. These Bats frequently make their way into rooms through the open windows, when they fly 
about rather noisily. In the neighbourhood of houses they sleep during the day among the leaf-stalks 
of the cocoa-nut palms ; in the open country they resort to the hollow trunks of trees. 
Numerous species nearly allied to this occur in Brazil and other parts of America, such as 
Phyllostoma discolor and elongatum , Mimon Bennettii and 
megalotis , in which the chin bears two warts separated by 
a furrow ; Tylostoma Childreni and crenulatum, with only 
two lower incisors ; CaroUia brevicauda, in which the middle 
of the horseshoe is scarcely distinct from the upper lip; 
Rhinophylla pumilio, in which the tail is entirely wanting; 
and Phylloderma stenops with three instead of two pre- 
molars on each side in the lower jaw. 
THE VAMPIRE BAT. f 
The genus Vampyrus differs from Phyllostoma and its 
allies (except the last) by the presence of three premolars 
on each side in the lower jaw. The lower lip has two broad 
warts separated by a furrow ; the ears are large and 
head or vampire eat. separate ; the first joint of the middle finger is more than 
half as long as the metacarpal bone ; and the tail is 
altogether wanting. The nasal appendage has the horseshoe part well developed, with the margin free 
and quite distinct from the upper lip. 
The Vampire, which was one of the earliest known species of these American Bats, and is also 
the largest of all, is by no means an amiable-looking animal. Its head is considerably elongated ; the 
nose-leaf is long and pointed ; the wings reach the base of the outer toe, and the middle of the hinder 
margin of the interfemoral membrane projects in a little point, although, as already stated, there is no 
tail to cause any such projection. The fur, which is long and soft, is usually chestnut-brown above 
and pale beneath. The length of the head and body in this Bat is about five and a half inches. From 
HEAl) OF JAVELIX EAT. 
Ph yll osto ma h astat urn. 
f Vampyrus spectrum. 
