THE EES MOD US. 
339 
caused. * Such wounds, says Dr. Hensel, can be produced only by large, peculiarly shovel-like, and 
very sharp incisor teeth, and such teeth occur only in the allied genera Desmodus and DiphyUa, With 
the latter he had no acquaintance, but he obtained Desmodus rufus in abundance. He says it usually 
lives in cavities in the rocks, but sometimes in large hollow trees. “ In capturing these animals,” he 
adds, “ I have often had the opportunity of observing the wounds that they inflicted on the noses of 
my Dogs which tried to seize them, or on my own hands, and found that they perfectly resembled those 
of the Horses bitten by the blood-suckers. The creatures bite with the rapidity of lightning, and 
even when they seem merely to touch the skin, a piece of it is found to be deficient. They cannot 
therefore hold fast with their teeth, as all other Phyllostomidae do, for these, when they are captured, 
in their rage seize with their teeth any object within their reach, and hold it for some time.” It 
would appear, especially from the rudimentary state of their molar teeth, that these Bats cannot be 
supposed to prey upon insects, no remains of which have ever been found in their stomachs, and 
desmodus. ( One-third Natural Size.) 
their excrements consist solely of a black, pitch-like paste, evidently digested blood. This is 
evacuated near the entrance of the caves in which the creatures live, and while they are waiting 
until the darkness outside is sufficient for them to start on their piratical excursions. The floor at 
such a place is found covered with a layer of the above-mentioned black mass, which may attain a 
thickness of a foot or more. Dr. Hensel mentions that a large Dog, after paying a visit to one of 
the caverns haunted by these Bats, looked as if he had got long black boots on. The same writer is 
of opinion that the Bats must obtain the greater part of their food by capturing and sucking the blood 
of the smaller warm-blooded animals. As the large domestic animals are not indigenous to America, it 
is probable that they only furnish an occasional meal to some of the great swarms of these Bats that 
infest the country. 
That the Desmodus is specially organised for a peculiar diet is shown by the extraordinary 
structure of its stomach, which, as described by Professor Huxley, whose observations are confirmed 
by Professor Peters, differs from that of any other Mammal. The gullet (g in figure) is exceedingly 
narrow, and opens into a transversely elongated tubular stomach, which passes directly on the right side 
into the intestine (i), the duodenum and stomach not being separated by any pyloric constriction, and 
# The wound is, in fact, very much like that which many of our readers must occasionally have inflicted on themselves 
in shaving; and those who are experienced in such matters will know how long it takes to stop the bleeding thus 
produced. 
