The Hiflory of ANIMALS. 
S 6 3 
Talpa acauda. 
The tail-lefs Talpa . 
%\)t pat'nteD 
This is larger than the common mole : the head is large and oblong, broad at the 
top, and narrow, but obtufe at the fnout: the eyes are very minute, and fcarce vifi- 
ble, 5 without Tome pains in the feeking after them; there are no ears: the mouth is 
fmall, but the teeth are fharp, and the creature ufes them very boldly, biting any one 
that touches it in a very violent manner: the body is long, thick, and rounded; there 
is no tail, not'indeed lo much as the lead: rudiments of one: the legs are fhort, and 
the feet are broad, and formed like hands: the fur with which the creature is covered 
is fhort and fine, but very thick ; it is of a mixed colour, in which a purplifh and 
a yellowifh tinge feem the prevailing ones, but neither of thefe is feen diftin<ft in any 
light: the mixture, when the eye is thrown full upon it, forms a kind of brown, 
and in fide lights has many varied tinges, in the manner of the changeable filks* 
This is a native of the Eaft; it lives under-ground, in the manner of our mole, and 
feeds on infers, and on the roots of plants. 
VESPERTILIO, 
T H E Vefpertilio, from it’s power of flying, has been generally ranged among 
the birds, but with the utmofl impropriety. That it is, in all refpedts, a qua¬ 
druped, will appear by it’s chara&ers. 
The fore-teeth of the upper jaw are fix in number, they are acute and diftant; the 
fore-teeth of the lower jaw are alfo fix, and they are acute and contiguous: the ca¬ 
nine teeth are two above, and two below, on each fide : the feet have each five toes, 
as well the hinder ones as the fore ones; the fore-feet have the toes conne&edby a mem¬ 
brane, and expanded into a fort of wings. 
Vefpertilio caudatus , ore nafoque fimplici. 
The Vefpertilio , with a tail, and with the 
mouth and nofe fimple . 
3Zt)c $at» 
This creature’s having the power of flying has made it be ranked by many as ob- 
ferved among the birds, but it has the mouth of a quadruped, not the beak of a 
bird; it has hair on the body, not feathers, and it produces it’s young alive, not un¬ 
der the form of eggs. It has indeed no one thing in common with that feries of ani¬ 
mals but it’s flying, and the flying lizard, or the flying fquirrel, may asjuftly be num¬ 
bered among them. 
The common bat is of the bignefs of the moufe, and very much refembles it in 
fhape and colour : the head is large and oblong ; the forehead is prominent, and the 
nofe fmall but obtufe: the ears are fmall, eredt, and patulous; the eyes are mode¬ 
rately large and prominent; the noftrils are open, and the mouth is large, and the 
teeth fharp : the neck is fhort, the body is oblong and bulky; the tail is moderately 
long, and the hinder legs flender, but not fhort: the toes are long, and are armed 
with fharp claws. 
The fore-feet are expanded with a kind of leather wings; the toes are very long, 
and ferve as ribs to fupport and move the tough membrane that is expanded between 
them. Thefe wings, as they are called, furround the body, and are continuous one 
to the other, and at the bending of them there is a kind of hook, by which the crea¬ 
ture fixes itfelf to trees, walls, or other parts of buildings, or even to rocks: the co¬ 
lour of the fur is that of the common moufe, only with a tinge of the olive: the 
membranes, forming what are called the wings, are of a dufky hue. The female has 
two 
