266 
BATS. 
Whether this was really the explanation of the pause in its flight or not, it seems 
certain that this bat does not ordinarily remain very long on the wing. I have 
often observed that in the early part of the night it alternated its pursuit of 
insects with short periods of repose in an outhouse. On one occasion, I observed 
a bat of this species return three times during the evening (from about 8 to 10 p.m.) 
to a room I happened to be occupying; and, curiously enough, it always attached 
itself to precisely the same part of the ceiling. That part of the room, however, 
was the point furthest away from me, and my presence may have influenced the 
bat in its selection of the spot.” 
In addition to the true leaf-nosed bats, of which there are fully twenty species, 
there are several more or less closely allied kinds which are referred by zoologists 
to distinct genera. The only one of these we shall notice here is the flower-nosed 
bat (Anthops ornatus), discovered a few years ago in the Solomon Islands, and 
remarkable for the extraordinary develop¬ 
ment of its nose-leaf This appendage as¬ 
sumes the form of a large rosette, covering 
the whole front of the face, reaching from 
eye to eye, and extending downwards nearly 
to the upper lip. Above the eyes the upper 
border of this rosette terminates in three 
stalked balls, while the remainder consists of 
overlapping furbelow-like expansions of skin; 
the obliquely-placed nostrils appearing some¬ 
what below its centre. It is difficult to 
believe that such an extraordinary structure 
is solely connected with the sense of touch, 
and we should rather assume that in this 
case the great development of the rosette is to 
FACE OF THE FLOWER-NOSED BAT (4 times liat. ° 1 
size).—Alter Thomas, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1888. R considerable extent an ornamental feature. 
Mr. O. Thomas remarks that the discovery 
of such a form in the Solomon group is a most interesting and unexpected 
fact, since oceanic islands are generally characterised by the large proportion 
and great specialty of their frugivorous as compared with their insectivorous bats, 
a rule otherwise well exemplified in this archipelago. 
The False Vampire Bats and their Allies. 
Family Nycteridaz. 
Certain bats agreeing with the preceding group in the possession of a nose- 
leaf, and found in the tropical and subtropical parts of Africa, India, and the 
Malayan region, are (from the blood-sucking propensities of at least one of the 
species) commonly known as vampires; but since that term is exceedingly likely 
to lead to confusion with the true American vampires, they are better designated 
false vampires. The five species of these bats, together with seven of another 
genus, collectively constitute a distinct family. 
