332 
NATURAL HISTORY . 
various considerations, no doubt in part from its large size and ugliness, this Bat has always been 
regarded as one of the most noxious of the blood-suckers of its family, and, in fact, it owes its name of 
Vampire to the belief in its sanguinary nature. But Mr. Bates, who certainly bad good opportunities 
of observing it, acquits the Vampire of this charge. In describing his residence at Ega, on the 
Upper Amazon, he says : — “ The Vampire was here by far the most abundant of the family of Leaf- 
nosed Bats. It is the largest of all the South American species, measuring twenty-eight inches in expanse 
of wing. Nothing in animal physiognomy can be more hideous than the countenance of this creature 
when viewed from the front ; the large leathery ears standing out from the sides and top of the head 
the erect spear-shaped appendage on the tip of the nose, the grin, and the glistening black eye, all com- 
bining to make up a figure that reminds one of some mocking imp of fable. No wonder that imagi- 
native people have inferred diabolical instincts on the part of so ugly an animal. The Vampire, 
however, is the most harmless of all Bats, and its inoffensive character is well known to residents on 
the banks of the Amazons. I found two distinct species of it, one having the fur of a blackish colour, 
the other of a ruddy hue, and ascertained that both feed chiefly on fruits. The church at Ega was the 
head-quarters of both kinds. I used to see them, as I sat at my door during the short evening twilight, 
trooping forth by scores from a large open window at the back of the altar, twittering cheerfully as 
they sped off to the borders of the forest. They sometimes enter houses. The first time I saw one in 
my chamber, wheeling heavily round and round, I mistook it for a Pigeon, thinking that a tame one had 
escaped from the premises of one of my neighbours. I oj^ened the stomachs of several of these Bats, and 
found them to contain a mass of pulp and seeds of fruits, mingled with a few remains of insects. The 
natives say they devour ripe cajus and guavas on trees in the gardens ; but, on comparing the seeds 
taken from their stomachs with those of all cultivated trees at Ega, I found they were unlike any of 
them ; it is therefore probable that they generally resort to the forest to feed, coming to the village in 
the morning to sleep, because they find it more secure from animals of prey than their natural abodes 
in the woods.” 
The two forms referred to by Mr. Bates in the above extract were probably only colour varieties 
of Vampyrus spectrum , but several nearly related species occur in tropical America. Thus, Ghrotopterus 
auritus differs from the preceding only in having a short tail like that of Phyllostoma , and the second 
lower premolar small, and placed within the line of the teeth ; Lophostoma sylvicola , amblyotis , 
and bidens , all from Brazil, have the second lower premolar small, but in the row, the horseshoe only 
developed at the sides, the lower lip as in Phyllostoma , the first phalanx of the middle finger a little 
shorter than the metacarpal, and only two incisors in the lower jaw; Schimstoma miniUum , elongatum , 
and Belmii , whilst agreeing with Lophostoma, in the proportion of the first phalanx of the middle finger, 
have the horseshoe and lower lip as in Varnpyrus ; and Trachyops drrhosus has the lower margin of 
the horseshoe indistinct, the lower lip with a double row of warts and a deep furrow, and the second 
lower premolar very small, and placed within the line of the row of teeth. These Bats are all in- 
habitants of the tropical parts of America. 
Neuwied’s Large-leafed Bat (J facrophyllum Neuwiedii) is one of the few species of the present 
family in which the tail is respectably developed. The ears are of moderate size and separate ; the 
horseshoe is well developed, and the nose-leaf very long, lance-shaped, and pointed. The dentition is 
as in Phyllostoma. This is a small Bat, measuring only about three inches and one-sixth in total 
ibngth, of which the tail occupies one inch and one-third. The fur is of a sooty-brown colour, paler 
beneath ; the nose-leaf is darker, and the membranes lighter in colour than the body ; the interfe moral 
membrane has about half a dozen curved lines of small dark points towards its apex. Neuwied’s Bat 
was discovered by Prince Maximilian in Brazil in the forests of the banks of the Moucouri Biver. 
He describes it as not very abundant, and as passing the day clinging to rocks and the trunks of 
trees. Its stomach contained remains of insects. 
The Large-eared Spear-nosed Bat (. Lonchorhina aurita ), an allied species with a long tail and a 
very long nose-leaf, is a native of the West Indies. The tail traverses the interfeinoral membrane in 
the fashion of that of a Vespertilionid Bat. The nose-leaf has a distinct rib running up its middle, 
and at its base there is a deep pit divided into two by a partition on each side of which are the 
nostrils, and the place of the horseshoe is taken by a curious three-leaved process which stands out 
in front of the nostrils. 
