CHAPTER XI. 
Bats ,— concluded. 
The Free-Tailed Insectivorous Bats. 
The chief distinctive features of this group are that, as a rule, the tail (when 
present) either penetrates the membrane between the legs, so that its extremity 
appears on the upper surface, or it is produced considerably beyond the hinder 
margin; secondly, that the innermost (frequently the only) pair of upper incisor 
teeth are generally of large size, and placed very close together; and, thirdly, 
that except in two genera, each represented by a single species, the first joint of 
the third or middle finger of the wing is, when at rest, folded back upon the 
upper surface of its supporting metacarpal, instead of being extended forwards in 
the same line, as in the species we have hitherto described. Not a single repre¬ 
sentative of this large assemblage of bats is found in the British Isles, and, 
indeed, only one species occurs within the limits of the European area. They are 
mainly characteristic of tropical and subtropical regions; but whereas the first of 
the two families into which they are divided ranges over both hemispheres, the 
second is strictly confined to the central and southern portions of the Western. 
The number of genera—to say nothing of species—included in the two families 
is very large, and as many of them are distinguished from one another by 
comparatively trivial characteristics, we shall notice only a few typical forms, of 
special interest either from peculiarities of structure or of habits. 
The Smooth-Nosed Free-Tailed Bats. 
Family EmballonuiuDjE. 
The first family of the group occupies a position precisely similar to that held 
by the Typical Bats ( Vespertilionidcv ) in the other branch of the insect-eaters 
treated in the preceding section. In addition to the peculiar mode of folding the 
third finger of the wing, and the characters of the tail already alluded to, they 
are distinguished by the circumstance that there are but two bony joints in this 
third finger, as also by the absence of any distinct nose-leaf. As a rule, they 
have a small tragus in the ear, and only a single pair of upper incisor teeth, which 
incline towards one another. Moreover, the extremity of the snout is obliquely 
truncated from above downwards, so as to cause the nostrils to project more 
or less in front of the tip of the lower jaw. The family is widely distributed 
over the warmer regions of both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, and 
includes one of the two species which are the only representatives of the entire 
vol. i. — 19 
