Bats to be made known to European naturalists in modern times. It was
described under the name of _Vespertilio admirabilis_, by Bontius,
in his “Historia Naturalis Indiæ Orientalis.” The species was also
described and figured by Seba and other naturalists of the seventeenth
century; but Linnæus, by a curious blunder, confused the references to
this and allied species with the stories told of the American Vampire
Bats, and described these Eastern fruit-eating forms as constituting a
species under the name of _Vespertilio vampyrus_, the natural history
of which he summed up in the following queer paragraph:--“Noctu
haurit sanguinem dormientium servorum, cristas gallorum et lacrymas
palmarum, phlebotomus felicissimus in pleuritide!” (By night it sucks
the blood of sleeping slaves, the combs of cocks, and the juice of
palm-trees, a capital lancet in pleurisy!) In its habits it closely
resembles its Indian ally, resorting in great numbers to particular
trees for the purpose of sleeping through the day, and starting forth
at sundown in search of the fruits on which it feeds. Dr. Horsfield
describes them as presenting a singular spectacle in their dormitories.
“Ranged in succession with the head downwards,” he says, “the membrane
contracted about the body, and often in close contact, they have little
resemblance to living beings, and by a person not accustomed to their
economy are readily mistaken for a part of the tree, or for a fruit of
uncommon size suspended from its branches.” He adds that they occasion
“incalculable mischief, attacking and devouring indiscriminately every
kind of fruit, from the abundant and useful cocoa-nut which surrounds
every dwelling of the meanest peasantry, to the rare and most delicate
productions which are cultivated with care by princes and chiefs of
distinction.” In his history of Sumatra, Mr. Marsden states that he has
observed very large flights of these Bats passing at a great height
in the air, as if migrating from one country to another; and he adds
that Captain Forrest noticed them crossing the Straits of Sunda from
Java Head to Mount Pugong. The flesh of this species is eaten by the
inhabitants of the countries where it abounds, who thus get some return
for the mischief it does in their gardens and plantations. Its specific
name (_edulis_) refers to this circumstance. Its name among the natives
of Java is Kalong, and with the Malays of Sumatra and of the peninsula
of Malacca Kaluwang, or Kluang.
THE NICOBAR, MANED, JAPANESE, AND GREY FRUIT BATS.[149]
It will be unnecessary to do more than refer to a few of the numerous
species of _Pteropus_ inhabiting the islands of the Eastern seas, as
their habits in all cases are almost exactly alike, and it would be
useless to attempt the bare description of a number of closely-allied
species. The Nicobar and Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal have
their peculiar species (_P. nicobaricus_), about the same size as the
Indian Fruit Bat, but of which the females and young males are usually
black all over, whilst the male has a reddish or chestnut-coloured
tippet. The Philippine Islands have a rather remarkable species, the
Maned Fruit Bat (_P. jubatus_), the head of which is shown in one of
our illustrations on the next page. Japan possesses a smaller form
(_P. dasymallus_), about eight inches long, which is characterised by
the woolly nature of its fur, as indicated in its specific name. Those
islands of the Eastern Archipelago from Celebes to New Guinea and the
Solomon Islands which, according to Mr. Wallace, belong to the great
Australian region, are abundantly supplied with fruit-eating Bats, such
as the Grey Fruit Bat (_P. griseus_, see next page), a small species
which inhabits Timor and Amboyna. The small islands scattered over the
ocean to the east also possess their peculiar species.
[Illustration: KALONG.]
THE GREY-HEADED FRUIT BAT.[150]
The northern and eastern parts of Australia are inhabited by a large
species of _Pteropus_, the Grey-headed Fruit Bat (_P. poliocephalus_).
This Bat measures about a foot long, and has an expanse of wing of
about three feet. The head, cheeks, and throat are ash-grey, with a
few scattered black hairs; the nape, part of the front of the neck,
and the shoulders are bright reddish-brown, and separated by a black
band from the grey fur of the body. These Bats, according to Dr.
Bennett, are found in great numbers about Moreton Bay and the northern
districts of New South Wales. They could be observed “hanging in dense
clusters from the uppermost branches of the lofty gum and other trees,
which often bend so much under the weight, that the spectator is in
momentary expectation of their breaking off with a crash, and falling
to the ground encumbered with their heavy load of Bats.” The same
observer remarks that, although their regular activity is crepuscular
and nocturnal, they occasionally seek food for a short time during the
day, and he adds when seen flying about the trees in the daytime they
resemble rooks so closely as to have been frequently mistaken for those
birds. Since the cultivation of fruit has been carried on extensively
in New South Wales and Queensland, these Bats have been found to do a
vast amount of injury to the plantations.
Mr. Gould, speaking of this Bat, says, “The enormous number that may
be seen sleeping pendent from the trees in the more secluded parts of
the forest are beyond conception. It is not surprising, therefore,
that the settlers whose abodes may be in the neighbourhood of one of
these colonies should find their peach-orchards devastated in a single
night. Indeed, no one of the native animals is more troublesome to the
settlers than this large Bat, which, resorting to the fruit-grounds
by night, when it is impossible to protect them from its attacks,
commits the most fearful havoc.” Like the Indian species, this Bat is
exceedingly fond of the wild fig.
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE MANED FRUIT BAT.]
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE GREY FRUIT BAT.]
GOULD’S FRUIT BAT.[151]
Mr. Gould described and figured from Northern Australia a large species
of Fruit Bat of a sombre colour, with a reddish-brown neck-spot, which
he identified with the _Pteropus funereus_ of Timor, a supposed species
which is now regarded as a mere colour-variety of the Great Kalong. The
Australian Bat is described by Professor Peters as a distinct species
under the above name. It is about nine inches in length. We have the
following observations upon its mode of occurrence and habits:--Mr.
Gilbert found it to be extremely abundant in the Coburg peninsula.
During the day the Bats were seen suspended in great numbers from the
upper branches of the mangroves overhanging the creeks. They constantly
emit a very strong and disagreeable odour, which is perceptible at a
considerable distance. At night they become exceedingly active, and
while flying about in quest of food they utter a loud, trembling, but
shrill whistle.
Dr. Leichardt, in his expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington,
found this Bat an excellent article of food. According to him it feeds
upon fruit and the honey of various flowers. After it had fed upon the
flowers of the so-called tea-tree, he found it to be unusually fat and
delicate; while those Bats which had been revelling among the blossoms
of the gum-trees were not so fat, and had a strong unpleasant odour.
In the neighbourhood of the River Roper the Bats occurred in myriads,
suspended in thick clusters on the highest trees in the shady and moist
parts of the valley. They started from their repose as the travellers
passed, and the flapping of their great leathery wings produced a sound
like that of a hail-storm.
THE ROUSSETTE.[152]
The so-called Mascarene Islands, Mauritius and Bourbon, those specks
in the great Indian ocean which, when first discovered, harboured so
many curious birds, also furnished one of the earliest known species
of Fruit Bats, the Roussette (_Pteropus vulgaris_, see next page),
which was described by Gesner and Clusius. This species, which is said
to occur also in Madagascar, and even on the mainland of Africa, is
about eight and a half inches long, and three feet in expanse of wing.
The muzzle, forehead, and cheeks are rusty red; the crown of the head,
the nape, and the sides and front of the neck yellowish-red; and two
longitudinal bands of the same colour run parallel to each other down
the middle of the back, separated by a strip of blackish chestnut,
which, with the similarly coloured shoulders, forms a sort of cross;
the sides of the back are rusty red, and the lower surface of the body
black. It is probably to the generally reddish tinge of its fur that
this species owes its French name of Roussette, which has been extended
in its application to the whole of the Frugivorous Bats.
THE EGYPTIAN FRUIT BAT.[153]
The majority of the African Fruit Bats belong to genera which have
been separated from the old genus _Pteropus_. Thus we have several
species of _Cynonycteris_ (_Xantharpyia_ and _Eleutherura_ of the late
Dr. Gray), in which the characters are generally those of _Pteropus_,
but there is a short tail more or less enclosed in the interfemoral
membrane, and the basal portion of the thumb is joined to the index
finger by a membrane. To this genus belongs the Egyptian species
already referred to (_Cynonycteris ægyptiaca_), representations of
which occur on Egyptian monuments (see page 269). This species is about
five and a half inches long, with an expanse of wing of eighteen or
twenty inches; the tail is rather more than half an inch long, and the
basal half of it is enclosed in the interfemoral membrane; the ears are
rather long, rounded at the tips, and naked; the upper surface of the
body is pale greyish-brown, becoming yellowish on the sides and the
hairy part of the arms, and the lower surface is whitish. These Bats
are found abundantly in Egypt, where they dwell amongst the ruins of
its ancient edifices, and in the dark chambers of the Pyramids. They
also occur in Senegambia in Western Africa, and in Syria.
THE HOTTENTOT FRUIT BAT.[154]
An abundant species of South Africa is the Hottentot Fruit Bat
(_Cynonycteris collaris_), specimens of which may be seen in the
Zoological Gardens, where they breed pretty freely. This species varies
considerably in colour, but usually displays various shades of reddish
or greyish-brown. The fur is less dense on the nape of the neck, which
in consequence generally has a rather bare appearance. This Bat occurs
at the Cape of Good Hope, in Caffraria, and in Mozambique.
THE MARITIME FRUIT BAT.[155]
These tailed Fruit Bats are represented in the East Indian region by
several species, which gives the genus _Cynonycteris_ a geographical
range from the Philippine Islands in the north-east to the Cape of Good
Hope in the south-west. The best-known Indian species (_Cynonycteris
amplexicaudata_), is nearly allied to the Egyptian form, but smaller,
being little more than four inches in length. Its fur is reddish-brown,
or brownish-red above, and so short upon the back that this part
appears nearly bare. The range of this Bat extends from the shores
of the Persian Gulf to the Philippine Islands, and it appears always
to haunt the coasts. As already stated this Bat is supposed by some
zoologists to feed on mollusca and other marine animals picked up on
the seashore.
THE MARGINED FRUIT BAT.[156]
[Illustration: ROUSSETTE.]
In the _Cynopteri_, which are small Fruit Bats inhabiting Southern
Asia and its islands, the characters are very similar to those of the
preceding genera, but the muzzle is considerably shorter and more
Dog-like, and one of the true molars is deficient, so that the whole
series of molar teeth contains four on each side in the upper, and
five on each side in the lower jaw. The most abundant species is the
_Cynopterus marginatus_ (see next page), which is about four inches
in length, and varies in colour through different shades of brown
and reddish-brown. It is specially distinguished by having the ears
surrounded by a white border. This Bat occurs in all parts of India,
in Ceylon, in Further India, and in the eastern islands to Celebes and
the Philippines. It is exceedingly common, and very destructive to
fruits, especially guavas, plantains, and mangoes. Mr. Dobson gives
the following account of the voracity of a specimen obtained by him at
Calcutta:--He gave it “a ripe banana, which, with the skin removed,
weighed exactly two ounces. The animal immediately, as if famished
with hunger, fell upon the fruit, seized it between the thumbs and the
index fingers, and took large mouthfuls out of it, opening the mouth
to the fullest extent with extreme voracity. In the space of three
hours the whole fruit was consumed. Next morning the Bat was killed,
and found to weigh one ounce, half the weight of the food eaten in
three hours! Indeed, the animal when eating seemed to be a kind of
living mill, the food passing from it almost as fast as devoured,
eating being performed alone for the sake of the pleasure of eating.”
It is hardly fair, perhaps, to apply the character of this disgusting
little gormandiser to his whole species, but no doubt if the rest of
his kind only approximate to his prowess, they must do incalculable
mischief in the plantations of fruit-trees. According to Captain
Hutton, these Bats travel long distances, as much as thirty or forty
miles in search of food, and back again the same night. This is most
strikingly shown in their frequenting the valleys of the Dehra Doon
and Nepaul to feed on the guavas growing there, as they are never seen
in these localities during the day, but arrive there during the fruit
season about midnight, and depart again before morning. “To reach
Dehra,” says Captain Hutton, “they must either cross the Sivalik range
of hills, from 3,000 to 3,500 feet high, or thread their way for miles
through the passes leading into the Doon, though even then we may ask
with amazement how, when they are approaching the Sivaliks, they can
tell that there is fruit some twenty miles in advance of them! To
reach the valley of Nepaul at 6,000 feet of elevation they must ascend
and descend the mountains; and yet, wonderful to say, they penetrate
no farther into the hills, neither do they descend from the Doon to
Mussooree, apparently instinctively knowing that they will find no
guavas farther in the hills! Almost equally astonishing is it that,
having thus feasted in the Doon and Nepaul, they should be able to
find their way back again, through forests and hills, for thirty or
forty miles to their natural haunts in the plains.” Captain Hutton
fully confirms Mr. Dobson’s statements as to the greediness of this
Bat. He says that one he had “in Calcutta in 1849 appeared to be almost
incessantly eating, resting only, even during the day, for a short
interval of sleep, and then recommencing upon ripe guavas, as if it had
not seen food for a fortnight.”
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE MARGINED FRUIT BAT.]
WHITE’S FRUIT BAT.[157]
A series of peculiar species are inhabitants of the continent of
Africa, from the Northern tropic to the Cape of Good Hope. They have
the muzzle rather elongated, the molar teeth three on each side in the
upper, and five on each side in the lower jaw, the base of the thumb
united to the index finger by membrane, and the tail very short and
chiefly enclosed in the small interfemoral membrane. The males have
tufts of divergent white hairs on the shoulders, whence the generic
name of _Epomophorus_, applied to these Bats, has been derived. The
best-known species is the _Epomophorus Whitii_, an inhabitant of
Western Africa (Senegambia and Guinea), which measures about six and
a half inches in length, and has an expanse of wing of about eighteen
inches. Its fur is reddish-brown above, and greyish beneath, and both
sexes present white spots at the base of the ears.
THE HAMMER-HEADED BAT.[158]
A species presenting so grotesque an appearance that it might almost
have served as the original of one of Callot’s demons (see next page),
was discovered some years ago in Western Africa, by M. Du Chaillu, and
described by Dr. Allen, of Philadelphia. It is allied to _Epomophorus_,
but differs from all other Pteropine Bats in the extraordinary size and
shape of the head, which has a hammer-like appearance, owing to the
muzzle being enormously developed and cut off abruptly in front, and
the whole of this part of the animal is garnished with curious fleshy
lobes, which give it a most singular aspect. The length of the head and
body is about twelve inches, and the expanse of the wings twenty-eight
inches. Of its habits nothing appears to be known.
THE HARPY BAT.[159]
The Harpy Bat (_Harpyia cephalotes_), is a remarkable species, having
a short and rounded head, with the nostrils wide apart and somewhat
tubular, and a very peculiar dentition, there being only two incisor
teeth in the upper jaw, and none in the lower, while the upper jaw
has only four and the lower one six molars. This Bat, the Molucca Bat
of Pennant and Shaw, inhabits the islands of Celebes and Amboyna. It
is nearly four inches in length, and has an expanse of wing of about
fourteen inches.
[Illustration: HAMMER-HEADED BAT.
From the _Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1870_.]
Mr. Dobson has recently described a second species of Harpy from Duke
of York Island, near New Guinea, which may be called the Greater Harpy
Bat (_Harpyia major_). It is much larger than the above species, and
is especially remarkable for the great length of the nasal tubes. The
general colour of the fur is pale buff.
THE CLOAKED FRUIT BAT.[160]
This is another very curious Bat which inhabits Amboyna, but is also
met with in Timor and Banda. It differs from all the preceding forms by
wanting the claw at the extremity of the first finger, and is further
remarkable by having the wing-membranes springing from the middle
line of the back, so as to form a complete mantle for the animal. In
the form of the head, this Bat resembles the true _Pteropi_, but the
dentition approaches that of _Harpyia_, the incisors being usually two
in each jaw, and the lower ones sometimes deficient, and the molars
four and six in the upper and lower jaws respectively. This Bat is
about six inches long, with an expanse of wing of rather more than two
feet. The colour of the fur in adult animals is generally olive-grey,
often with a brownish tinge, and the wing-membranes are light brown
and translucent. The tail is short, and about half enclosed in the
interfemoral membrane.
THE DWARF LONG-TONGUED FRUIT BAT.[161]
The remaining forms of the Frugivorous Bats to which we have to refer
constitute a peculiar group, characterised by having the tongue very
long, thin, capable of being pushed far out of the mouth, and covered
with peculiar recurved, brush-like papillæ, and the molar teeth very
small and scarcely raised above the surface of the gum (see figure
below). From the great length of the tongue, the name of _Macroglossus_
was applied by F. Cuvier to the first species of this group that was
discovered; and, as it is the smallest species of the family, it
received from its original describer the specific name of _minimus_.
The _Macroglossus minimus_ is, in fact, a mere dwarf in comparison
with the large Bats which constitute the majority of the Pteropidæ,
measuring only from two and a half to three inches in length, with an
expanse of wing of from eight to ten inches. The muzzle is long and
narrow, with the nostrils not projecting; the index finger has a claw
at its tip; the wing-membranes spring from the sides of the body, and
run down to the base of the fourth toe; and the tail is very short,
free from the interfemoral membrane, but usually concealed beneath the
fur. The colour of the fur is reddish-brown. The tongue is said to be
two inches long. This little Fruit Bat occurs upon the Himalayas, at
Darjéling, and extends thence through Burmah and Siam to the islands of
the Eastern Archipelago, and as far south as the northern and western
parts of Australia. According to Dr. Horsfield, this species, although
far less abundant in Java than the great Kalong, exists there in
sufficient numbers to inflict serious injury upon the plantations of
fruit-trees. It particularly affects the most succulent fruits, such
as those of various species of _Eugenia_, known in Java as Jamboo.
Probably the peculiar structure of the tongue has some connection with
this soft, juicy diet.
[Illustration: TEETH OF THE DWARF LONG-TONGUED FRUIT BAT.]
THE BLACK-CHEEKED FRUIT BAT.[162]
Among the Bats from Duke of York Island, north-east of New Guinea,
lately described by Mr. Dobson, there is a most characteristic species
of the long-tongued group, which may be called the Black-cheeked Fruit
Bat. It has the long thin tongue, armed with brush-like papillæ, of
_Macroglossus_, the nostrils bounded at the sides by naked raised
edges, the metacarpal bone of the middle finger as long as the whole
index finger, the wing-membranes starting from the sides of the body
and from the back of the middle toe. In the number of the teeth it
agrees with _Macroglossus_, but differs somewhat in the position of the
pre-molars, the first of which are very small and placed close to the
canines, while the second and third are separated from this and from
each other by considerable interspaces. We have no information as to
the habits of this Bat, which is figured on the next page.
[Illustration: BLACK-CHEEKED FRUIT BAT.
From the _Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1877_.]
THE FIJIAN LONG-TONGUED FRUIT BAT.[163]
The only other species of this group was described by the late Dr.
Gray, under the name of _Notopteris Macdonaldii_, and it is interesting
as reproducing the peculiar character presented by _Cephalotes_ of
having the wing-membranes springing from the middle of the back. In the
structure of the tongue it agrees with _Macroglossus_; but it has no
claw on the first finger; its tail is elongated; and it has only two
incisors in each jaw, and four molars on each side in the upper, and
five in the lower jaw. This curious Bat is an inhabitant of the Fiji
Islands.
SUB-ORDER II.--MICROCHIROPTERA, OR INSECTIVOROUS BATS.
CHAPTER III.
HORSESHOE BATS AND MEGADERMS.
INSECTIVOROUS BATS--Mr. Dobson’s Objection to
the Name--Characteristics--Nasal Appendages--THE
VESPERTILIONINE AND EMBALLONURINE ALLIANCES--The Fur
in the Two Alliances--THE HORSESHOE BATS--General
Characteristics--Distribution--Diet--Carnivorous
Propensities--GREATER HORSESHOE BAT--General Appearance--“Nose
Leaves”--Habitat--THE LESSER HORSESHOE BAT--Habitat--THE
MOURNING HORSESHOE BAT--THE AUSTRALIAN HORSESHOE BAT--THE ORANGE
BAT--PHYLLORHINÆ--THE DIADEM BAT--Character of their “Nose
Leaves”--Captain Hutton’s Account of their Habits--THE PERSIAN
TRIDENT BAT--THE MEGADERMS--THE LYRE BAT--Characteristics--Called
Vampire by Europeans in India--Mr. Blyth’s Account of a Megaderm’s
Blood-thirstiness--THE CORDATE LEAF BAT--THE AFRICAN MEGADERM--THE
DESERT BAT.
The second sub-order of Bats--which includes a much larger number of
species, displaying a far greater variety of characters than those
which have hitherto occupied our attention--has received the name of
_Insectivora_, from the general nature of the diet of the animals
composing it. Mr. Dobson objects to this name, chiefly on account
of there being already an _order_ of Mammalia bearing the same
designation; and he proposes to call these Bats _Microchiroptera_, in
allusion to the small size of most of the species in comparison with
the majority of the Pteropidæ. Moreover, although the food of most of
these Bats consists exclusively of insects, some of them feed, at least
partially, upon other vertebrate animals, and a few are known to eat
fruit.
The Bats belonging to this second sub-order may be at once
distinguished by the structure of their molar teeth, which are armed
with acute tubercles, separated, more or less completely, by transverse
furrows. The ears also differ from those of the Pteropidæ, in that the
two margins of the conch start from different points on the surface
of the head, and, in a great number of cases, they are complicated
by a membranous lobe, springing from near their base, or by a great
development of the tragus, or anterior lobe of the ear. The tail in
these Bats is generally well developed, and the index finger is never
terminated by a claw.
A considerable number of Insectivorous Bats of different families have
their noses furnished (we cannot say adorned) with curious leaf-like
appendages, often of most complicated construction (see some of the
illustrations), and these organs, as has already been stated, probably
assist materially in the exercise of that delicate sense of touch
which supplements or takes the place of the power of vision in guiding
the Bats in their obscure abodes. In general, the presence or absence
of nasal appendages being an exceedingly obvious character, has been
adopted by zoologists as the means of classifying these Bats, and the
order has been commonly divided into two groups--the Istiophora, or
those with a nose-leaf, and the Gymnorhina, or Anistiophora, in which
there is no such appendage. Mr. Dobson, who has devoted a great deal
of attention to the Chiroptera, finds, however, that by following
this system certain forms are grouped together which have little in
common, whilst in other cases real affinities are lost sight of, and
he suggests another mode of division, which, for many reasons, appears
to be the most natural that has hitherto been proposed. He ranges
the families of his Microchiroptera in two alliances, the leading
characters of which may be briefly indicated as follows:--
In the first, or _Vespertilionine alliance_, so called from its
including our common Bats (_Vespertiliones_), the tail is generally
long, never absent, and always entirely enclosed in the interfemoral
membrane, with the exception of the extreme tip, which projects a very
little; the pre-maxillary bones are rudimentary, and the upper incisor
teeth which they carry small and weak; and the first phalanx of the
middle finger is extended in repose in a line with the metacarpal bone.
In the second, or _Emballonurine alliance_, so called from one of
the genera included in it, the tail, which is frequently absent or
short, except in two or three species, is not contained within the
interfemoral membrane, but has its extremity free, usually perforating
the membrane and appearing on its upper surface. The pre-maxillary
bones are generally well developed, and the incisors large; and the
first phalanx of the middle finger is folded forward in repose above or
below the metacarpal bone.
The character derived from the condition of the middle finger in repose
seems to be regarded as of the most importance by Mr. Dobson, who says
that it is connected with differences in the habits of the animals; but
those of the tail and incisor teeth will be most useful to the student
in determining to which alliance he is to refer his specimens; and,
although they are liable to exceptions in the second group, will never
_both_ fail in the same individual.
[Illustration: HAIRS OF BATS, MAGNIFIED.
(From _Dobson’s “Monograph of Asiatic Bats.”_)]
A striking confirmation of the naturalness of this arrangement is
to be found in the fact that even the microscopic character of the
fur differs in the two alliances. In the first, the longer hairs of
the fur when magnified show a series of scales, imbricated or partly
overlapping each other, something like the grains of corn in the ear,
the tips, which are not acute or very prominent, forming a sort of
spiral line round the surface of the hair (see Fig. _a_). In the second
alliance, on the contrary, the scales--which are smaller and narrowed,
with acute and projecting tips--are arranged in rings round the hair,
giving it a somewhat jointed appearance (see Fig. _b_). Mr. Dobson has
examined the fur of a majority of the genera of these Bats, and also
submitted his specimens to the examination of Dr. J. D. Macdonald,
F.R.S., and both these gentlemen find the differences in the structure
of the hair always perfectly in accordance with the arrangement above
indicated, with but two exceptions, one of them being a genus which
really forms a sort of connecting link between the two alliances, and
the other having fur quite different from that of any other Bat, and in
which the scales can hardly be distinguished.
VESPERTILIONINE ALLIANCE.
FAMILY II.--RHINOLOPHIDÆ, OR HORSESHOE BATS.
The Bats of this family are usually called Horseshoe Bats, from the
circumstance that their noses are furnished with leaf-like membranous
appendages of rather complicated structure, the front part of which
is usually something like a horseshoe in its form (see figure on next
page). The nostrils are situated within this horseshoe, between it and
the other parts of the nose-leaf, which vary considerably in their
shape and structure. The middle finger has two phalanges, or joints,
beyond the long metacarpal bone, a character common to all the Bats
of this alliance, with only a single exception; and _the ears have no
tragus_. Throughout the family there are two small incisor teeth in the
upper jaw, and four in the lower, and three true molars on each side
in both jaws; but the number of pre-molars varies, being usually two
on each side in the upper jaw, and either two or three in the lower;
whilst in one curious species the upper pre-molars are only one on each
side.
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE GREATER HORSESHOE BAT.]
The _Rhinolophidæ_ are confined to the Eastern hemisphere, of which
they chiefly inhabit the warmer parts. They are generally insectivorous
in their habits, but some of the larger species are said to prey upon
other vertebrate animals, and not even to spare their smaller brethren.
Thus, Mr. Frith informed Mr. Blyth that “a number of these Bats were in
the habit of resorting to the verandah of his residence in Mymensing
(Burmah), and that every morning the ground under them was strewed with
the hind-quarters of Frogs and the wings of large Grasshoppers and
Crickets. On one occasion the remains of a small fish were observed;
but Frogs appeared to constitute their chief diet--never Toads, and of
a quiet evening these animals could be distinctly heard crushing the
heads and smaller bones of their victims.”
Captain Hutton also states that various species of _Rhinolophidæ_, and
some _Vespertilionidæ_,[164] when confined with some smaller species
than themselves, will prey upon them; and he suggests that these
carnivorous propensities may be “the reason why the larger species keep
aloof in pairs, instead of congregating, as do some of the smaller
kinds.” In illustration of this suggestion he gives the following
interesting account of a cave frequented by Bats:--He says, “I know of
an enormous cave at Mussooree, to which various species, both large and
small, are in the habit of resorting for rest and concealment during
the day. Standing within this spacious vault in the earliest hours,
just before the first streaks of day appear, the spectator is perfectly
astonished at the numbers of Bats resorting to it; not, however, in one
promiscuous crowd, but in separate detachments, each seeking its own
particular quarter of the cavern, and alighting against the sides, at
first within reach of a Butterfly-net, and commence crawling upwards
and backwards to spots beyond the reach of invasion from below. Here,
in one spot, will be seen a pair of _Rhinolophus luctus_, hanging high
up, and quite apart from all the rest; in another place hangs a pair of
_Phyllorhina armiger_, the large ears and the facial crests in active
tremulous motion as the head is turned in every direction to ascertain
that no intruder is nigh its dwelling-place, until, this restlessness
gradually passing off, the animal hangs at length quietly suspended
by the feet. In another direction are a dozen or more of _Rhinolophus
minor_, rapidly scrambling all together, like a lot of crabs, up the
inequalities of the rocky surface, and hurriedly disappearing into some
deep, narrow crack or crevice; while again, in another part, the same
scene is observed, as dozens of a very small species of _Nycticejus_
(_Scotophilus_) scramble into similar hiding-places, to rest in peace
until the hour for again emerging in search of prey calls them all
forth once more.”
THE GREATER HORSESHOE BAT.[165]
Although, as already stated, most of the Horseshoe Bats inhabit warm
countries, several species are found in more temperate regions. One of
these is the Greater Horseshoe Bat (_Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum_),
which occurs, although not very abundantly, in various parts of the
South of England. He is a puffy and rather pursy-looking little fellow,
with a head which appears full large for his body. The length of his
head and body is about two and a half inches, and that of his tail,
which is entirely enclosed in the interfemoral membrane, about an
inch and one-third. His wings have an expanse of thirteen or fourteen
inches. The fur on the upper surface is reddish-grey, and on the lower
surface very pale grey; the membranes are of a dingy brown colour, and
the ears and nasal appendages pale brown. The ears are large, broad at
their attachment to the head, pointed and turned outwards at the apex.
From the outer margin ten or a dozen transverse furrows run towards
the middle of the ear. The outer margin, at its junction with the
head, is also continuous with a low rounded lobe[166] which bounds the
aperture of the ear in front, and may be used to close the cavity. The
nasal appendages, or “nose-leaves,” are very curious and complicated
(see figure, p. 281). The anterior, or horseshoe-shaped portion,
lies longitudinally upon the nose, and is formed of three concentric
elevations, the innermost of which bounds the depression in which the
nostrils are placed. Between the nostrils arises the central process,
the anterior portion of which forms a sort of cup, behind which the
process is slightly narrowed and excavated, but again widens before
terminating in a short but rather sharp point. This point overhangs
the third, or frontal leaf, which touches the horseshoe portion, and
is about as broad as the latter at their junction, and tapers up to a
point upon the forehead. The eyes, which are like little black beads,
are placed on each side of the junction of the horseshoe and the
frontal leaf.
[Illustration: GREATER HORSESHOE BAT.]
These curious structures are found with slight variations in all the
species of the genus _Rhinolophus_, to which this Bat belongs. The
nasal appendages vary somewhat in the form and proportions of their
parts, and the basal lobe, or antitragus of the ears, is developed in
different degrees in various species, but their general character is
always recognisable. Other marks by which the species of this genus
may be recognised are the presence of three joints in the first toe,
the others possessing only two, and the dentition, which includes the
full number of teeth developed in the family, namely, incisors, 2/4,
canines, (1–1)/(1–1), pre-molars, (2–2)/(3–3), molars, (3–3)/(3–3).
The Greater Horseshoe Bat lives chiefly in deserted quarries, old
buildings, and natural caverns, and is said to frequent the darkest
and most inaccessible parts of such excavations. Thus, Montagu found it
in company with the smaller species next to be described, in “Kent’s
Hole,” near Torquay, “a retreat,” says Mr. Bell, “so dark and gloomy,
that no other species, even of this lucifugal family, were found to
frequent it.” In such retreats it passes the winter in a torpid state,
coming forth in the spring to prey upon the insects which constitute
its sole nourishment. It is said often to feed upon chafers, but to
eat only the body. That it does not disdain smaller game, however,
appears from Pennant’s record of its original discovery in England by
Dr. Latham, who obtained it at Dartford, in Kent, where, says Pennant,
“they are found in greatest numbers in the saltpetre houses belonging
to the powder-mills; and frequent them during the evening for the
sake of the Gnats which swarm there. They have also been found during
winter, in a torpid state, clinging to the roof.” Mr. James Salter, in
a communication to Mr. Bell, mentions his having caught one of these
Bats on the 29th of September, 1865, in so appropriate a locality as
the “haunted room” at Tomson Manor House, Dorsetshire. It was flitting
about the room when he went to bed, having entered by an open window.
“On the next three nights, which were still and calm,” he says, “I saw
numbers of (apparently) the same Bats flying around the house among a
grove of sycamores. The flight was low, short, and sluggish, both in
the room and out of doors.”
This Bat suckles its young, after the usual fashion of Bats, at the
two pectoral teats. Several authors, and among others Geoffroy, have
maintained that the Horseshoe Bat, and indeed all the species of the
family to which it belongs, possess, besides the ordinary pectoral
teats, a second pair situated on the groin. This, however, is not the
case, for the nipple-like appendages situated on the groin in the
females of this group have been proved to have no connection with any
mammary glands.
In England the Greater Horseshoe Bat has been found in various
localities in the southern counties. Besides Dartford, where it was
originally discovered in this country, Mr. Bell mentions Margate,
Rochester, and Bristol Cathedrals, Colchester, caverns at Clifton,
and the Undercliff of the Isle of Wight. On the continent of Europe
it inhabits the whole of the southern and central parts from Spain
and Portugal in the west, to Greece and Turkey in the east, extending
northwards as far as central Germany and southern Russia. In Asia it is
found in Syria and Asia Minor, and ranges thence eastwards to Nepaul
and Mussooree; whilst in Africa it appears to stretch from Algeria to
the Cape of Good Hope. Over this wide range, as might be expected, the
species does not always display precisely the same characters, and
variations of greater or less importance have led to the establishment
of supposed distinct species; amongst others, the Japanese _Rhinolophus
nippon_ is regarded by Mr. Dobson as identical with our Greater
Horseshoe Bat.
THE LESSER HORSESHOE BAT.[167]
The Lesser Horseshoe Bat, the second British species of this genus,
was formerly regarded only as a small variety of the preceding, and
was first distinguished by Colonel Montagu, who also first detected
its occurrence in England. It is about half an inch shorter than the
Greater Horseshoe Bat, and its expanse of wing is about nine inches. In
general aspect it resembles the larger species. The fur is equally soft
and full, and of the same colours, except that the upper surface is a
little browner, and the lower parts rather more tinged with yellow. In
the ears the transverse furrows are scarcely perceptible, and the basal
lobe is rather larger in proportion. There are also some small, but
constant, peculiarities in the structure of the nasal appendages. The
central leaf is less prominent and less cupped at the base than in _R.
ferrum-equinum_; the frontal leaf is lance-shaped, and not much dilated
at the sides towards the base; and the outer margin of the horseshoe is
slightly crenulated (see figure).
[Illustration: HEAD OF LESSER HORSESHOE BAT.]
In its habits this kind seems to agree with the Greater Horseshoe
Bat. As already mentioned, the two species were taken together by
Montagu in “Kent’s Hole,” clinging in considerable numbers to the
vaulted roof of the interior apartments. It was first discovered by
him in rather a singular situation, namely, a hole over a baker’s
oven, which it had entered through a fissure. He afterwards found it
in a dark shed surrounded by tall trees, at Lackham, in Wiltshire.
In the second edition of Mr. Bell’s “British Quadrupeds” there is an
interesting account of the manners of this species. The writer mentions
the occurrence of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat in two localities in
Warwickshire, one of these being the roof of the neglected mansion of
the Marquis of Hertford at Ragley, near Alcester. Numbers of Long-eared
Bats were found, chiefly in pairs, in holes in the massive timbers,
but “although several of the Horseshoe Bats were seen flitting in the
deep gloom, broken only by an occasional gleam of light through some
small crevice, and by our lighted candle, yet a careful search was for
some time unrewarded by the discovery of a single individual in its
resting-place. A great accumulation of excrement around a huge central
stack of chimneys at length attracted attention, and a long stick,
thrust upwards in a narrow opening between the chimneys, soon dislodged
several of these Bats, which were caught as they descended, and before
they were well on the wing, after which pursuit proved useless. Some of
these examples being at various times liberated in a room, exhibited
extraordinary powers of flight. One of them displayed in its search for
a means of exit an ability which was quite extraordinary. It literally
flew into every part of the room, and behind and under everything, even
under a bookcase standing against a wall, although there was scarcely
a space of three inches between it and the floor ... it flew into a
vacancy occasioned by the removal of a moderate octavo volume, without
having so much as touched anything with the tips of its wings.” In
examining the window this Bat searched every pane inch by inch, its
wings while thus occupied being “kept in a vibratory state, the face
of the animal being directly in front of the glass, and very near
to it, as if looking out of window.” The impression produced on the
observers was that the animal was “feeling its way about like a blind
person;” but “at the same time its shyness when approached sufficiently
testified that its organs of sight were by no means inactive.” In order
to rest, instead of adhering like most other Bats against some object
by means of its claws, it always sought for something from which it
could hang freely. According to Dr. Leach this Bat is easily tamed, but
is fond of concealing itself.
Besides the English localities already mentioned, the Lesser Horseshoe
Bat is found not unfrequently at Cirencester and in some parts of
Ireland. Professor King obtained it in Galway; and from the statements
of Mr. Foot and Professor Kinahan it appears to be the commonest Bat in
some parts of County Clare. Its European distribution is much the same
as that of the preceding species, but it seems to extend rather farther
to the north. It is also found in the Caucasus and in South-western
Siberia. North African specimens are said to be paler in colour than
European.[168]
THE MOURNING HORSESHOE BAT.[169]
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE MOURNING HORSESHOE BAT.]
Other species of _Rhinolophus_ are met with chiefly in India and
the Asiatic Islands. One of the most striking of them, and indeed
the largest species of the genus, measuring more than three and a
half-inches in length, is the Mourning Horseshoe Bat (_Rhinolophus
luctus_, see figure), an inhabitant of the higher grounds of India,
Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, and the Philippine Islands. This Bat is
remarkable for the great development of the nasal appendages, the
central leaf being expanded on each side into a lobe nearly as long
as the central ascending portion, the horseshoe very large, so as
to project beyond the upper lip, and the frontal leaf so long as to
ascend between the ears. The latter organs are also of great size,
and have a large basal lobe (antitragus) separated from the outer
margin of the ear by a deep angular notch. The fur is very long
and thick, and usually black with grey tips, so that the species
appears to be in mourning, whence its specific name; it is, however,
subject to considerable variation in this respect, some specimens
being reddish-brown. Captain Hutton, who resided for a considerable
time at Mussooree, has described the habits of this Bat, which he
found in the Himalayas up to an elevation of 5,500 feet, where it
was “hanging from the roof of an outhouse, looking, with its ample
black wings folded round it as a cloak, somewhat like a large black
cocoon.” He says that it commences its flight rather early in the
evening, and generally keeps at about twenty or thirty feet from the
ground, wheeling, with a somewhat heavy and noiseless flight, around
buildings and large trees in search of small Moths and other insects.
He adds that he has taken them from the roofs of outhouses and from
wide caves in limestone rocks, and that they seem generally to live in
pairs and not in communities, although several pairs may be found in a
large cave. At Mussooree they fly only during the warmer months, and
remain in a semi-torpid state during the winter, but Captain Hutton
suggests that in the warmer climates of Sikkim and the Khasia hills
they may be active all the year round. Another smaller species with
a similar central nose-leaf has been described under the name of _R.
trifoliatus_; it is an inhabitant of the eastern coast of India, Java,
and Borneo. These two species form the genus _Aquias_ of the late Dr.
Gray.[170]
THE AUSTRALIAN HORSESHOE BAT.[171]
A single species of _Rhinolophus_ occurs in Australia, having been
obtained from caverns on the Murrumbidgee River, and also near Richmond
River in New South Wales. It has pale mouse-coloured fur. The ears
are large, with long basal lobes, and the nasal appendages are larger
than in the European species, the frontal leaf being lance-shaped and
long, and the horseshoe rather deeply notched in front. In allusion
to the large size of the nose-leaves this species has been called _R.
megaphyllus_.
THE ORANGE BAT.[172]
[Illustration: ORANGE BAT.]
Another Australian species of Leaf-nosed Bat, belonging, however, to a
distinct genus, of which, indeed, it is the sole representative, is the
Orange Bat (_Rhinonycteris aurantia_, see p. 285). This species, which
is about two inches long, is clothed with a soft fur, which, in the
male, is of a bright orange colour, and in the female pale yellow. This
coloration is exceedingly remarkable in an animal of nocturnal habits,
as these are generally rather sombre in their tints. The nose-leaf in
the Orange Bat is somewhat similar in its character to that of the
true _Rhinolophi_, but in its other peculiarities this Bat is rather
related to those which we shall next have to describe, and thus forms a
sort of transition between the two groups. It has the toes equal, and
composed of only two phalanges, a character which distinguishes it from
the preceding species; whilst its resemblance to them in the structure
of the nose-leaf serves to separate it from its following allies.
The teeth resemble those of _Rhinolophus_. In repose the tail and
interfemoral membrane are generally turned back, which appears to be
the case in some at all events of the following species. This species
inhabits Northern Australia, and is especially abundant on the Coburg
peninsula. It reposes during the day in hollow spouts and holes of the
gum-trees.
THE DIADEM BAT.[173]
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE MALE AND FEMALE DIADEM BAT, ENLARGED.
(_After Dobson._)]
Whilst the _Rhinolophi_ are chiefly inhabitants of elevated localities,
especially in tropical regions, the members of the second large genus
of Horseshoe Bats (_Phyllorhina_) for the most part frequent the plains
and lower hills of the same countries. The most definite character
separating the _Phyllorhinæ_ from the _Rhinolophi_ is the presence of
only two phalanges (joints) in all the toes of the hind feet, the first
toe in _Rhinolophus_ having three such joints. The nose-leaf consists
of a horseshoe and of two other portions, which, however, differ
considerably in form from those of _Rhinolophus_; the anterior portion
being horseshoe-shaped, but not notched in front, the intermediate part
not forming a prominent process, but broad and heart-shaped, and the
posterior part broad, erect, and concave in front. The number of teeth
is the same as in _Rhinolophus_, except in one species (_P. tridens_),
which has only a single pre-molar on each side in the upper jaw.
Fourteen species of this genus are cited by Mr. Dobson as inhabiting
the East Indies and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, and one of
them, the Diadem Bat (_Phyllorhina armigera_), which is found among the
mountains of Northern India, extends its range as far north as Amoy in
China. The characters of the nose-leaf in this species will be seen
from the annexed figures, which show strikingly the great complexity
of this curious apparatus. Behind the nose-leaf is the aperture of a
peculiar sac situated in the forehead, which is characteristic of many
species of the genus, and which can be turned out like the finger of a
glove at the pleasure of the animal, and the surface of which secretes
a waxy substance. Its centre bears a tuft of straight hairs, the tips
of which project from the orifice when the sac is drawn in. The Diadem
Bat is rather a large species, the head and body measuring from three
and a half to four inches in length, and the expanse of the wings being
about two feet. Its general colour is light brown, darker on the upper
surface, where the hairs are ringed with three colours--pale sepia at
the base, then grey, then dark sepia, with the extreme tips a little
paler.
The late Captain Hutton has given an account of the habits of this
species as observed by him at Mussooree, where specimens were captured
at elevations of 5,500 and 6,000 feet above the sea-level. At the
latter elevation a pair resided in a loft, from which they issued every
evening about dusk, and flew with a slow, deliberate flight round the
house, from which they never departed to any great distance. They did
not remain on the wing long at a time, but retired at intervals to
their dwelling-place in the loft. The same writer describes these Bats,
which seem to emerge from their concealment very early in the evening,
as leisurely wheeling with noiseless flight round some wide-spreading
oak, attracted by the loud discordant note of a large _Cicada_,
which is abundant during the rainy season, and only pours forth its
clamorous evening song just as the sun begins to dip below the horizon.
“It is during this dreadfully harsh concert,” he adds, “when almost
every tree sends forth its stunning notes, that this Bat emerges from
its hiding-place, wheeling round and round the trees, scanning each
branch as he slowly passes by, now rising to a higher circle, and then
descending towards the lower branches, until at length, detecting the
unfortunate minstrel, it darts suddenly into the tree, and snatching
the still screaming insect from its perch, bears it away.”
In captivity, according to Captain Hutton, the large ears of this
animal are kept in a constant, rapid, tremulous motion, and the
creature emits a low purring sound, which is exchanged for a sharp
squeak when it is alarmed or irritated. When it is suspended in a
resting attitude the tail and interfemoral membrane are turned up, not
in front, as usual in Bats, but behind, upon the lower part of the
back. In this species and its allies Captain Hutton further noticed
that when they are disturbed “the whole of the facial crests are kept
in a state of constant agitation; and as the animal hangs suspended by
the feet, the head and muzzle are stretched forth, and turned about in
every direction, as if for the purpose of sniffing out the presence of
danger, and ascertaining the cause of the disturbance.”[174]
THE PERSIAN TRIDENT BAT.[175]
Under this name Mr. Dobson describes a very remarkable species of
this family in which the nasal appendages seem to attain the extreme
of complexity (see figure). The ears also are of very peculiar
construction. This is a small species, about two and a quarter inches
long, and of a pale buff colour, specimens of which were obtained at
Shiraz in Persia at an elevation of about 4,750 feet above the sea.
Its nearest ally, curiously enough, is to be found, according to Mr.
Dobson, in the Australian Orange Bat (_Rhinonycteris aurantia_).
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE PERSIAN TRIDENT BAT, ENLARGED. (_After
Dobson._)]
Frith’s Short-tailed Bat (_Cœlops Frithii_) is a still more
remarkable species, single specimens of which have been obtained
from the Sunderbunds and from Java. It is most nearly allied to the
_Phyllorhinæ_, but has the horseshoe part of the nose-leaf composed
of two notched pieces, the front lobes of which cover the base of two
long hanging leaflets, the tail short, the interfemoral membrane deeply
excavated, and the index finger unusually long, and composed chiefly of
the metacarpal bone.
FAMILY III.--NYCTERIDÆ.
The development of peculiar nasal appendages for which the
_Rhinolophidæ_ are remarkable is still more striking in some species
of another family, the members of which were formerly included in the
preceding. In these Bats (the _Nycteridæ_ of Mr. Dobson) the ears are
enormously developed, membranous, and united either by a portion of
their inner margins, or by a transverse band of membrane, the tragus
or earlet is greatly developed, and the middle finger contains two
phalanges.[176]
The species inhabit the warmer parts of the Old World.
THE LYRE BAT.[177]
The extraordinary development of the ears and of the membranous
appendages of the nose is greatest in the species of this genus, which
has in consequence been denominated _Megaderma_, two of which inhabit
tropical Asia, whilst two occur only in the warmer parts of Africa.
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE LYRE BAT.]
Of all the species the most abundant and best known is the Lyre
Bat (_Megaderma lyra_, see figure), which is found with but little
variation in its characters throughout continental India, from Cashmere
to Cape Comorin, and also in the adjacent island of Ceylon. This
extraordinary little creature, which measures only about three and a
half inches in length, and is of a slaty blue colour, paler beneath,
has its ears considerably longer than its head, and united for nearly
half the length of their inner margins, and the earlets (_tragi_) very
long, divided at the end into two parts, one of which, the posterior,
is pointed, and a good deal longer than the other, which is rounded
off at the end. The ears are, in fact, about half the length of the
head and body. The nose-leaf starts from a nearly circular base, lying
horizontally upon the muzzle, and rises like a sort of strap more
than half an inch long, the front surface of which has a projecting
ridge running up its middle, and corresponding to a deep groove on the
posterior surface. The nostrils are situated in the concavity of the
basal disc from which the nose-leaf springs. In this and the other
species of _Megaderma_ there are no incisor teeth in the upper jaw (see
figure), the intermaxillary bone itself, which ought to bear these
teeth, being represented only by a cartilaginous piece, which fills
up the space between the canines; and the tail is exceedingly short,
and contained in the basal part of the interfemoral membrane, which is
large, and has its hinder margin concave, and not pointed as in most
Bats.
[Illustration: TEETH OF THE LYRE BAT.]
The great size of the ears and nasal appendages in these Bats has
led Europeans in India to give them the name of Vampires, as they
agree in these particulars with the true Vampire Bats of South
America, and the name is certainly better applied to them than to the
frugivorous Pteropidæ, which are sometimes called Vampires even by
zoologists. It is, however, a singular fact that in both these groups
the extraordinary developments of membrane about the head should be
proved to co-exist with more bloodthirsty habits than are common to
the Bats generally. It does not indeed appear to be absolutely made
out that _Megaderma lyra_ condescends to partake of that insect diet
which contents so many of its fellows. As Mr. Dobson remarks, “The
very peculiarly-shaped, elongated, narrow muzzle and large trenchant
canines, with acutely-pointed basal cusps (see figure) of this and of
the other species of _Megaderma_, the projecting mandible and divided
lower lip, so different from all Insectivorous Bats, naturally lead us
to suspect corresponding differences in habits.” And he goes on to
say that in examining the stomach and intestines of numerous specimens
of the present species, he always found them either perfectly empty
or filled with a pultaceous matter, in which no remains of insects
were to be recognised. Mr. Hodgson, however, found insects in the
specimens examined by him. But whether it contemns insects or not, an
observation made by the late Mr. Blyth suffices to prove that higher
forms of animal life, and indeed its own near relations, are exposed
to its attacks. The account given by Mr. Blyth is so interesting that,
although rather long, we may give it entire:--
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE CORDATE LEAF BAT.]
“Chancing one evening,” he says, “to observe a rather large Bat enter
an outhouse, from which there was no other egress than by its doorway,
I was fortunate in being able to procure a light, and thus to proceed
to the capture of the animal. Upon finding itself pursued, it took
three or four turns round the apartment, when down dropped what at
the moment I supposed to be its young, and which I deposited in my
handkerchief. After a somewhat tedious chase, I then secured the
object of my pursuit, which proved to be a fine female of _Megaderma
lyra_. I then looked to the other Bat which I had picked up, and, to
my considerable surprise, found it to be a small _Vespertilio_, nearly
allied to the Pipistrelle of Europe, which is exceedingly abundant, not
only here, but apparently throughout India. The individual now referred
to was feeble from loss of blood, which it was evident the _Megaderma_
had been sucking from a large and still bleeding wound under and behind
the ear; and the very obviously suctorial form of the mouth of the
Vampire was of itself sufficient to hint the strong probability of
such being the case. During the very short time that elapsed before I
entered the outhouse, it did not appear that the depredator had once
alighted; and I am satisfied that it sucked the vital fluid from its
victim as it flew, having probably seized it on the wing, and that it
was seeking a quiet nook where it might devour the body at its leisure.
I kept both animals separate till next morning, when, procuring a
convenient cage, I first put in the _Megaderma_; and after observing
it for some time, I placed the other Bat with it. No sooner was the
latter perceived than the other fastened upon it with the ferocity of
a Tiger, again seizing it behind the ear, and made several efforts to
fly off with it; but finding it must needs stay within the precincts
of its cage, it soon hung by the hind legs to the wires of its prison,
and after sucking its victim till no more blood was left, commenced
devouring it, and soon left nothing but the head and some portions of
the limbs.”
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE AFRICAN MEGADERM.]
According to Mr. Jerdon, the Lyre Bat frequents old buildings, pagodas,
roofs of houses, and caverns, and is very abundant in the innermost
chambers of the cave temples of Ellora and Ajunta. The same writer
states that it has been known to eat Frogs and fish; indeed, Mr. Blyth
also charges it with a particular fondness for Frogs, and says that on
quiet evenings the Bats may be distinctly heard crunching the skulls
and smaller bones of their amphibious victims.[178]
The other Oriental species, the Cordate Leaf Bat (_Megaderma spasma_,
see figure), very nearly resembles the preceding, both in colour and in
general characters, but the posterior division of the earlet is larger
and more acutely pointed, the nose-leaf, although similar, is shorter,
and has the sides convex, and its concave basal disc is considerably
larger. This species is an inhabitant of the whole Malayan region, of
Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Ternate, and the Philippine
Islands.
THE AFRICAN MEGADERM.[179]
The best known African species (_Megaderma frons_) is an inhabitant
of the west coast of that continent, where it is found in Senegal and
Guinea. In this Bat the ears and nasal appendage (see p. 289) attain
even a greater development than in _Megaderma lyra_; the earlet is very
long, especially the posterior division of it; the ears are united by
their inner margin for about half their length; and the fur is of an
ashy colour, with a faint yellowish tinge. A second African _Megaderma_
has been described by Professor Peters under the name of _Megaderma
cor_; it is from Egypt, and somewhat resembles _M. spasma_ in the form
of its nose-leaf, but in other respects is more nearly related to _M.
frons_.
[Illustration: AFRICAN MEGADERM.]
THE DESERT BAT.[180]
At the first glance, the Desert Bat would seem to have but little to
do with the Megaderms, but its general organisation is very similar.
The nose-leaf--the striking characteristic of the head in the
Megaderms--is entirely wanting, unless indeed we may, with Professor
Gervais, regard the groove which runs up the face from the nose to
the forehead as really representing a sunken nose-leaf. This groove,
or furrow, is a deep depression, increasing both in width and depth
as it runs backwards, and is of such extent as to leave traces of its
existence even on the underlying bones. In its posterior part the floor
of the depression is divided lengthwise by a narrow ridge, and its
sides are margined, as far back as the eyes, with peculiar horizontal
cutaneous appendages. It is thus, evidently, a somewhat different
manifestation of the tendency towards a peculiar development of the
cutaneous system in the neighbourhood of the nose which we have seen
to be characteristic of the Rhinolophidæ and Megaderms, and no doubt
subserves the same purpose in the economy of the animal as the external
nasal appendages of those Bats.
[Illustration: HEAD OF THE DESERT BAT.]
The ears are large, and united across the forehead by a sort of
membranous band; the tail is long, and contained within the
interfemoral membrane; and the intermaxillary bones are present, and
bear four incisor teeth. In the lower jaw there are six incisors. The
canines, as in _Megaderma_, are large and powerful; there is a single
pre-molar on each side in the upper, and two in the lower jaw, and the
true molars are three on each side in both jaws.
These characters are common to all the species of the genus _Nycteris_,
most of which are inhabitants of the continent of Africa. The Desert
Bat (_N. thebaica_) is found in the desert regions of Egypt and
Abyssinia, and receives its name from its occurrence in the Thebaid,
that desert the caves of which gave shelter to so many hermits in
early Christian times. It is a small Bat, the length of its head and
body being about two and a half inches. Its ears are longer than the
head, and the tail is about as long as the body, and enclosed within an
ample interfemoral membrane, which is stretched on each side by a long
heel-spur. The fur is of a grey colour.[181]
[Illustration: DESERT BAT.]
These Bats possess an exceedingly curious faculty, namely, the power
of inflating the skin with air. The skin adheres to the body only at
certain points, where it is connected by a loose areolar tissue, and
the spaces thus left can be filled with air at the pleasure of the
animal, through the large cheek-pouches, which have an opening at the
bottom, and thus communicate with the spaces under the loose skin.
When the animal chooses to inflate its skin it fills its lungs with
air, and then, closing the mouth and nostrils, and contracting the
chest, forces the air through the openings in the cheek-pouches under
the skin. Its return is prevented by sphincter muscles, with which the
above-mentioned apertures are provided, and also by large valves on
the neck and back. By this means the Bat has the power of inflating
its skin to such an extent as to resemble, according to Geoffroy,
“a balloon with wings, a head, and feet attached to it.” Geoffroy
compares this condition of things with that of the fish of the genus
_Tetraodon_, which also have the power of inflating their skins with
air, but adds that “more fortunate than the _Tetraodon_, which can
only return to its original condition by becoming a mere inert mass
on the surface of the water, the Bat preserves all its faculties, or,
what is better, increases their energy by becoming lighter and capable
of more rapidity in flight.” This supposed advantage is at least
questionable.
CHAPTER IV.
FAMILY IV.--VESPERTILIONIDÆ, OR TRUE BATS.
The Genus _Vespertilio_ and the Family
Vespertilionidæ--Characteristics:
Nostrils--Tail--Ears--Dentition--Diet--Distribution--LONG-EARED
BAT--Ears--Distribution--Asleep--In
Captivity--BARBASTELLE--Characteristics--Distribution--Habits--
Flight--In Captivity--BIG-EARED BAT--TOWNSEND’S BAT--The Genus
_Nyctophilus_--Its true place--Characteristics--GEOFFROY’S
NYCTOPHILE--PIPISTRELLE--Distribution--Diet--NOCTULE--Natural
Food--Mr. Daniell’s Observations--SEROTINE--PARTI-COLOURED
BAT--HAIRY-ARMED BAT--NEGRO BAT--KUHL’S BAT--NILSSON’S
BAT--COROMANDEL BAT--THICK-FOOTED BAT--TEMMINCK’S BAT--WELWITSCH’S
BAT--NEW ZEALAND BAT--MOUSE-COLOURED BAT--NATTERER’S
BAT--DAUBENTON’S BAT--WHISKERED BAT--BLACK AND ORANGE BAT--PAINTED
BAT--HARPY BAT--RED BAT--SCHREIBERS’ BAT--BROWN PIG-BAT--
STRAW-COLOURED BAT.
Linnæus, in his “Systema Naturæ,” united all the Bats known to him
(with the exception of a single species, which, by a curious perversion
of judgment he referred to a distinct genus, and placed in quite a
different order) under the single genus _Vespertilio_. Later writers,
finding it necessary, as their knowledge of these animals increased,
to divide the Bats into many genera, have gradually, as it were, cut
off portions of the old Linnæan genus and given them new names, always
retaining the old name for the group which might be considered to
include the most typical forms of the original genus _Vespertilio_, the
ordinary Bats of European countries. Of these, only two are noticed in
the last edition of the work of the great Swedish naturalist, and even
these are now referred to two distinct genera, and the generic name of
_Vespertilio_ is now retained by only one of the few species with which
Linnæus was acquainted. The genus, however, as at present restricted,
contains a great number of species, all of which present the characters
of what may be called an average Bat, forming, as it were, the centre
(or part of the centre) round which the other groups forming the order
may be ideally arranged, and hence it very appropriately bears the old
name _Vespertilio_, as Bat _par excellence_, constitutes the type of
the family Vespertilionidæ, and gives its name to the Vespertilionine
alliance. In point of fact the genus _Vespertilio_ and the family
Vespertilionidæ may be regarded as the ideal centre of the whole order.
As in other groups of the same kind the number of species contained
in the family is very considerable, and their structural differences
are generally minute, these, indeed, being the characteristics usually
presented by what are called typical groups, the study of which is on
this account attended with peculiar difficulties.
[Illustration: DENTITION of THE THICK-LEGGED BAT.]
Except in one Australian genus (_Nyctophilus_), which has been removed
here from among the Megaderms by MM. Tomes and Dobson, the nostrils in
the Vespertilionidæ are simple round or crescentic apertures placed
at the extremity of the muzzle, and not surrounded by leaf-like
appendages. The tail is always long, contained in the membrane between
the legs, which it traverses from base to apex, usually leaving a
single joint projecting beyond the membrane; the ears are of moderate
or large size, are generally separate, and are furnished with large
tragi. With regard to the teeth, the upper incisors are separated
in the middle by a wide space and placed close to the canines. The
number of incisor teeth in the upper jaw varies, being generally four,
standing in pairs in the pre-maxillary bones, but in some species
there is only one incisor on each side, and this difference may not be
associated with any other characters sufficient to justify the generic
separation of the species. The lower incisors are almost always six in
number; one genus only has four. The canines are of moderate length
and strength. The pre-molars again are exceedingly variable; there
may be three or two on each side in both jaws, or one on each side in
the upper and two in the lower jaw, but the occurrence of two above
and three below is very rare. As a rule, when there are more than one
pre-molar on each side in the upper jaw, the hindmost of them which
is close to the true molars is larger than the one or two nearer the
canine (see figure, p. 292), and the latter are often inserted within
the line of the row of teeth. The true molars are three on each side in
both jaws; they are well-developed, and show the characteristic sharp
W-shaped cusps very distinctly.
[Illustration: BRITISH BATS AT HOME.]
The Vespertilionidæ are all, so far as is known, strictly insectivorous
in their habits. They are found generally distributed throughout the
temperate and warm regions of both hemispheres. It is to this family
that nearly all the European Bats belong, and it includes all the
British species, except the two Horseshoe Bats which have been already
described.
[Illustration: LONG-EARED BATS IN FLIGHT.]
THE LONG-EARED BAT.[182]
This common British species is known by the large size of the ears,
which are united by their inner margins over the middle of the crown of
the head. Hence this group, the _Plecoti_ of authors, may be regarded
as naturally forming a sort of stepping-stone from the Megaderms,
with their extravagant dermal developments, to the more commonplace
“Vespertiliones.” In the Long-eared Bat this character is very
striking, the ears being nearly seven-eighths as long as the head and
body. The organs are quite thin and membranous, resembling those of
the Megaderms already described, and they are traversed longitudinally
by three thin threads of cartilage, which apparently serve by their
elasticity to support the ears in an erect posture. From the middle
thread of cartilage the inner margin of the ear is bent in, forming
a sort of fold. A little above the base there is on each ear a small
lobe, so placed that when the ears are erect these lobes touch each
other. The outer margin of the ear ends opposite the base of the
tragus, which is very long, tapering upwards. The tail, which is nearly
as long as the head and body, is contained, all but the extremity
of the last vertebra, in the ample interfemoral membrane, along the
posterior margin of which the spurs extend fully half-way from the heel
to the tip of the tail on each side. The fur in the Long-eared Bat is
long, thick, and soft; the hairs are blackish at base, tipped above
with brown, with a reddish or greyish tinge, which appears to vary with
the age of the individuals, and beneath with pale brownish-grey. All
the membranes are dusky, usually with a reddish or brownish tinge. The
head and body in this species measure about one inch and five-sixths in
length, and the tail is about one-sixth of an inch shorter. Its expanse
of wing is ten inches.
This Bat occurs in nearly all parts of Europe and in North Africa,
extending eastwards throughout Central Asia, but apparently not south
of the Himalayas. Specimens from Northern Africa, even up to the
fifth Cataract of the Nile, and from the desert regions about the
Mediterranean and Caspian Seas, are described as having the fur paler
and more ashy in colour, and the membranes also paler than those from
more humid localities.
[Illustration: LONG-EARED BAT SLEEPING.]
The Long-eared Bat is common, and pretty generally distributed in
Britain, but is not so abundant or so well known as some other species.
This may, perhaps, be in part due to the fact that it is a nocturnal
species, coming abroad later than its fellows, and continuing on the
wing in pursuit of the moths, which appear to constitute its chief
prey, during the whole of the night. “At all hours,” says Mr. Bell,
“through the dead of the night, and in the darkest nights, in the open
fields or elsewhere, we have heard the shrill chatter of the Long-eared
Bat over our heads, its voice, once known, being easily recognised
from that of any other species.” Mr. Bell suggests, what may probably
be true, that the great development of the ears in this (and probably
other species) may be connected with the habit of flying late at night.
It chiefly frequents the open country, taking up its abode in the roofs
of tiled houses, especially in country villages, in which situations
the Bats pass the day during the summer, suspended in clusters from the
walls and timbers by the claws of their hind feet, and the whole winter
cosily packed between the tiles and in various holes and corners. It
also exhibits a predilection for church towers. When sleeping, the
long delicate ears are not generally left exposed, but are folded
down under the wings, where they are carefully tucked away. This is
commonly the case when the Bat has settled down for its day’s sleep,
and always occurs during hibernation. When the ears are thus disposed
of, the earlets or tragi still project from the head, giving the little
creature the appearance of possessing only a pair of short pointed ears
(see figure).
In captivity the Long-eared Bat soon becomes very tame and familiar.
These Bats will fly about the room, play with each other, and may soon
be induced to feed from the hand. “One kept by Mr. James Sowerby,” as
stated by Mr. Bell, “when at liberty in the parlour, would fly to the
hand of any of the young people who held up a fly towards it, and,
pitching on the hand, take the fly without hesitation. If the insect
was held between the lips, the Bat would then settle on its young
patron’s cheek, and take the fly with great gentleness from the mouth;
and so far was this familiarity carried, that when either of the young
people made a humming noise with the mouth, in imitation of an insect,
the Bat would search about the lips for the promised dainty.” From an
observation made by Mr. Tomes (Bell’s “British Quadrupeds,” second
edition, p. 76), it would appear that the Long-eared Bat, even in
freedom, habitually captures at least some of its food in a somewhat
similar manner. He says that “having occasion to rise early--about
three in the morning--on opening the window of his bedroom, a Bat
of this species was seen actively engaged around the sprigs of a
spindle-tree which extended across the window. It was in bloom at the
time, and was surrounded by a cloud of Microlepidoptera, on which the
Bat was feeding. As this took place scarcely four feet from the open
window it was easy to see the whole proceeding, and to determine with
certainty the manner in which the food was taken. With scarcely an
exception, the moths were picked from the leaves while resting there,
only one or two being taken on the wing. While thus occupied the Bat
hovered much after the manner of the Kestrel, and the ears were bent
outwards so much as to curl down the sides of the face, appearing more
like two huge cheek-pouches than ears, no part of them appearing of
greater elevation than the crown of the head.”
On the ground the progression of the Long-eared Bat is very peculiar.
Bats in general run along the ground with the head and body in a nearly
horizontal position, but the Long-eared Bat carries the fore part of
its body raised, and advances by a series of jerks, first on one side
and then on the other.
Several species nearly related to the Long-eared Bat have been
described under various generic names. _Antrozous pallidus_ is an
inhabitant of North America, _Histiotus velatus_ is found in Brazil,
and _Otonycteris Hemprichii_ occurs in Nubia.
THE BARBASTELLE.[183]
The Barbastelle is another British Bat belonging to the same group of
the family Vespertilionidæ as the Long-eared Bat, but forming the type
of a very distinct genus. The ears, instead of being elongated into
great membranous organs half as long as the body of the animal, are
only of moderate size, but they are united by their inner margins in
the middle of the forehead a little in front of the eyes. The outer
margin sweeps round upon the face, on which it terminates above the
upper lip, so that the eye is almost completely surrounded by the ear.
The tragus is triangular and pointed. The nostrils, as in _Plecotus_,
open on the upper surface of the nose in front of a naked space, and
from each nostril a deep groove runs down to the edge of the upper
lip. The muzzle is short and blunt, giving the animal rather a surly
aspect; the tail is nearly as long as the body, and enclosed in the
interfemoral membrane, except the extreme tip; and the teeth are as in
the Long-eared Bat.
[Illustration: HEAD OF BARBASTELLE.]
The Barbastelle is by no means a common Bat in England, where it seems
to be confined to the Southern and Midland Counties, extending as far
north as Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. It is found in France,
rarely in Belgium and Germany, in Italy, Scandinavia, and Russia. In
the southern part of the last-mentioned country it appears to be more
abundant than elsewhere, especially in the Crimea, on the south coast
of which it is said by M. Demidoff to be very common. It is said by Mr.
Bell to occur in Nepaul, but the specimens referred to by him probably
belong to the Darjeling Bat (_Synotus darjelinensis_) of Mr. Hodgson.
This curious little Bat measures about two inches in length of body,
and its tail is about a quarter of an inch shorter. The expanse of its
wings is ten inches. The cheeks are covered with black hair, which
forms a sort of moustache. The ears are irregular in form, their tips
being slightly truncated, and their outer margins sweeping in so as to
form a notch, from which five or six folds run about half-way across
the ear. The eyes are almost concealed by the black hairs on the
cheeks. The fur is long and soft, and of a brownish-black colour, with
whitish tips, which are longer on the hairs of the lower surface. The
membranes are dusky black.
In its habits the Barbastelle seems to be rather solitary; both in its
places of repose and in its evening flights it is generally seen alone.
It sometimes takes up its abode in caverns, but almost any place of
retreat will suit it. Thus it may be found in the crevices of walls or
trees, in the roofs of sheds, behind shutters, and in fact in almost
any situation that offers it a chance of concealment. Its flight is
peculiar, being a lazy, desultory sort of flutter, performed as if with
no particular object; and according to Mr. Bell it is in the habit of
approaching evening promenaders “so closely that the flutter of its
wings may be heard, and even the cool air thrown by their movement
felt upon the cheek.” In captivity the Barbastelle is rather timid,
and does not become familiar with its keeper after the fashion of its
near relation, the Long-eared Bat; and when confined with other Bats
it shows a certain sullenness of disposition, and an inclination to
keep apart from its companions. A specimen received in winter by Mr.
Bell from a chalk cavern at Chislehurst was very restless when awake,
and was constantly biting at the wires of his box, as if endeavouring
to escape. “When suffered to fly about the room, he flew very low, and
less actively than any other under similar circumstances; and he was
fond of lying before the fire on the hearthrug, where he appeared quite
to luxuriate in the warmth.”
In the second edition of “Bell’s British Quadrupeds,” a beautiful
variety of this Bat from Alcester, in Warwickshire, is mentioned,
having “the fur of the under parts, from root to tip, strongly tinged
with purplish-red, or rose-colour.” The authors also state that they
have seen a perfectly white specimen of the species, and one in which
the head and neck were of the ordinary dark colour, whilst the rest of
the body was pure white. In both these specimens, which were young, the
membranes were nearly white.
[Illustration: EAR AND HEAD OF TOWNSEND’S BAT. (_After Allen._)]
THE BIG-EARED BAT.[184]
Two North American Bats, allied to the Long-eared Bat and the
Barbastelle, have been formed into a distinct genus by Dr. Allen. They
have the ears very large, with the outer border carried forward beneath
the tragus, which is nearly half as long as the ear, tapering upwards,
and furnished near the base on the outer side with a small circular
lobe standing almost at right angles to the tragus. The sides of the
nose bear large excrescences, which join with the inner margins of the
ears. There are three pre-molars in the lower jaw, instead of two, as
in _Plecotus_ and _Synotus_.
The Big-eared Bat is a small species an inch and four-fifths long, with
a tail nearly of equal length. It is clothed with a long, fine, and
soft fur, the hairs of which are blackish at the base, with dusky-brown
tips on the upper surface, and greyish tips below. This Bat is an
inhabitant of the Southern Atlantic States of the Union.
Townsend’s Bat (_Corynorhinus Townsendi_) is a very similar animal,
but is a little longer, and has the face larger and broader and the
facial crests more prominent. Its ear and head are shown in the annexed
figures. The fur is brown above, with the bases of the hairs only
a little darker than the tips, lighter beneath, and slightly rusty
towards the base. It inhabits the central parts of the United States
(Missouri, Utah).
GEOFFROY’S NYCTOPHILE.[185]
The genus _Nyctophilus_ includes a small number of Bats belonging
to the Australian region, which, on account of their possession of
a rudimentary nasal appendage, have usually been placed with the
_Megaderms_ or the _Rhinolophidæ_. But apart from the presence of the
nose-leaf, which is of very simple structure, the characters of these
Bats are in such close agreement with those of the Vespertilionidæ,
that there seems to be no doubt that this is their true position. They
appear to be most nearly related to _Plecotus_.
The nasal appendages are very simple, consisting of a transverse front
piece placed immediately above the nostrils, and having its upper
margin straight, and a second portion, also transverse, placed at a
greater distance from the first than the latter from the nostrils, and
thickly clothed with short bristly hairs. The ears are large, ovoid,
united at their bases by a membrane which runs across the top of the
head, and furnished with a short broad tragus. The dentition differs
from that of the allied genera. There are two separated incisors and
only one pre-molar on each side in the upper jaw, and the lower jaw has
only two pre-molars on each side. Thus the dental formula is--incisors,
(1–1)/6, canines, (1–1)/(1–1), pre-molars, (1–1)/(2–2), molars,
(3–3)/(3–3).
[Illustration: GEOFFROY’S NYCTOPHILE. (_From Gould’s “Mammals of
Australia.”_)]
Geoffroy’s Nyctophile, which appears to be one of the commonest
species, as also the one first described, is a small Bat, the head and
body measuring rather more than two inches in length, and the tail
more than one inch. The heel-spurs are half an inch long. The body is
covered with long, thick, and soft fur, which is usually brown above
and brownish-grey beneath, the hairs on both surfaces being black at
the base, tipped above with olive-brown, and on the under surface
with brownish-white. The membranes are dark brown. The species is an
inhabitant of Western Australia, where it is abundant. These Bats are
sometimes found in great numbers in the hollow spouts of the gum-trees,
from which they emerge in the evening to flit around the shrubs and
smaller trees in search of insects.
Three other species of this genus are known, one of which, although
originally described as from Timor, and named _N. timoriensis_, is only
known to occur in Western Australia; another is from New South Wales,
and the third from Van Diemen’s Land.
THE PIPISTRELLE.[186]
The commonest and most generally distributed of the British species is
the Pipistrelle,[187] to which the local country name of Flittermouse
is considered by Mr. Bell to be specially applicable. In this and the
allied species forming the genus _Vesperugo_, the outer margin of the
ear sweeps round on the cheek below the tragus, so as nearly to reach
the angle of the mouth, and there is a small membranous lobe outside
of the spur which runs from each heel into the interfemoral membrane.
There are four incisor teeth in the upper and six in the lower jaw.
[Illustration: PIPISTRELLE IN FLIGHT.]
The Pipistrelle is of a reddish-brown colour above, paler beneath.
The ears are about two-thirds of the length of the head, somewhat
triangular, rounded at the tips, with the upper part of the outer
margin deeply concave; the earlet, or tragus, is nearly half as long
as the ear, and is of an oblong form with the apex rounded; the wings
extend down to the base of the toes, and their membrane, like that of
the ears, is of a dusky tint.
This Bat seems to occur abundantly in all parts of the British
islands. It is also common on the continent of Europe, as far north
as the central parts of Sweden, and southwards to the shores of the
Mediterranean, extending thence eastwards through Russia into Siberia
and Central Asia, but not passing to the south of the Himalayas. It
is essentially an inhabitant of temperate regions. Its favourite
resting-places in Britain, according to Mr. Jenyns, are the crevices
of decayed brick walls, the cracks of old door-frames, and behind the
pipes which are attached to buildings for carrying off rain-water; and
Mr. Bell describes it as taking shelter under the roofs of houses, and
in crevices of buildings of every description, either inside or out.
According to the second edition of Mr. Bell’s work, a specimen has
been taken from a hole in the thatch of a low shed in a brick-field,
another from a pile of hurdles in a stackyard, whilst a third was
observed issuing from the spout of a disused wooden pump, and one was
captured from behind a piece of loose bark on a pollard willow near
Stratford-on-Avon.[188] The Pipistrelle is thus rather indiscriminate
in its choice of a residence, and this may perhaps be due to the fact
that its period of winter torpidity is shorter than that of any other
species found in the countries which it frequents. In Great Britain
it appears on the wing as early as the middle of March, and does not
retire for its annual sleep until the winter season has decidedly set
in; indeed, Mr. Gould once shot a specimen in the middle of a bright
sunny day just before Christmas. Its food consists principally of small
insects, especially Gnats, Midges, and other small two-winged flies,
but it does not confine itself exclusively to such diet; raw meat
possesses such attractions for it that this Bat not unfrequently makes
its way into places where this is kept, and may be found clinging to
a joint, and making a hearty meal upon it. In confinement, also, the
Pipistrelle readily takes small pieces of raw meat as a substitute for
its ordinary insect food, and it will become so tame as to take its
nourishment from the fingers. On the ground the Pipistrelle runs with
considerable ease and quickness, and Mr. Bell states, in opposition to
the assertions of certain writers, that it can rise from a flat surface
without difficulty. He says:--“We have often seen the Pipistrelle rise
from a plane surface with a sort of spring, instantly expand its wings,
and take flight. This was repeated by a single individual several
times in the course of an hour, and without the slightest appearance
of difficulty or effort; it was, on the contrary, evidently a natural
and usual action.” The same writer remarks that this Bat climbs with
considerable agility, and in connection with this notices a peculiarity
in the use of the tail which appears to have escaped other observers,
namely, that it is used as an organ of prehension. The last joint of
the tail projects a little beyond the interfemoral membrane, and “not
only does the animal employ the tail in horizontal progression, in
which case it assists in throwing forward the body, by being brought
into contact with the ground on either side alternately, corresponding
with the action of the hinder foot on the same side; but in ascending
and descending a rough perpendicular surface, this little caudal finger
holds by any projecting point, and affords an evident support. This
is particularly conspicuous when the Bat is traversing the wires of a
cage, in which situation the fact was first observed.”
THE NOCTULE.[189]
The Great Bat, or Noctule, is another well-known British species,
although far from being so abundant as the preceding. It is, however,
even more widely distributed, being found in nearly all parts of the
Eastern hemisphere, except the extreme north, but in tropical regions,
according to Mr. Dobson, it seems to inhabit only the high grounds.
In England it ranges as far north as Yorkshire. Its head and body
measure about three inches in length, and its wings are about fourteen
inches in expanse. Its fur is of a reddish-brown colour, nearly uniform
throughout; the ears are ovate-triangular, shorter than the head,
broad, and having the outer margin produced down upon the cheek below
the level of the angle of the mouth; the earlet is short, not more
than one-third the length of the ear, broad, with the outer margin
rounded and the inner one concave. The wing-membranes reach only to the
ankle-joint, and there is a distinct lobe outside each of the spurs.
[Illustration: HEAD OF NOCTULE.]
The Noctule seems to prefer for its resting place the hollows of
old trees, and generally to avoid buildings, although instances of
its taking up its abode in or about the latter are not wanting. It
is gregarious in its habits, considerable numbers often retiring
together to the same hiding-place. Thus, in the second edition of
Bell’s “British Quadrupeds,” a good many Noctules are said to have
been “dislodged from a hole made by the Green Woodpecker in an elm by
the insertion of a flexible stick;” and at Rugby, in Warwickshire,
in a grove of old oaks, their excrement has been observed to form so
thick a layer as to darken the ground under some of the oldest trees.
Pennant states, on the authority of Dr. Buckworth (Buckhouse?), that
one hundred and eighty-five of these Bats were taken in one night from
under the eaves of Queen’s College, Cambridge, followed by sixty-three
on the second night, when the supply seems to have been nearly
exhausted, as only two were captured on the ensuing evening.
The natural food of the Noctule consists of insects, and its jaws are
sufficiently powerful to enable it to devour even such large and horny
Beetles as Cockchafers, which, indeed, seem to constitute its favourite
food. It is, in fact, most active during the period of the year when
these insects abound, for White, who first noticed its occurrence in
Britain, states that he never saw it at Selborne before the end of
April, or later than the end of July. In Warwickshire, however, it has
been observed as early as the 12th of March, and as late as the 18th
of September. It flies very high, and on this account was named by
White _Vespertilio altivolans_. Its course through the air is rapid and
straight, and accompanied by a continual sharp and shrill cry, which
ceases only during the capture and consumption of its insect prey. It
is described by White as emitting a rancid and offensive odour.
Mr. George Daniell, in a paper communicated to the Zoological Society
in 1834, published some notes on the behaviour of this Bat in
captivity, which are particularly interesting from the description they
contain of the birth of a young Noctule. Mr. Daniell obtained four
females and one male of this species on the 16th of May, 1834. The
male was very savage, biting the females, and breaking his teeth upon
the wires of the cage in his attempts to escape. He refused to feed,
and died on the 18th of May. The females, although at first sulky,
fed after a time upon small pieces of raw beef, which they seemed to
prefer to insect food. One of them died on the 20th, and two others on
the 22nd; the survivor, which fed by preference upon the breasts and
livers of fowls, lived on for rather more than a month. It passed the
day suspended by the hind feet at the top of the cage, and came down
in the evening to feed, which it did sometimes most voraciously; the
quantity eaten exceeding half an ounce, although the weight of the
animal itself was only two drachms. It rejected flies, but ate parts of
some Cockchafers that were given to it. The animal was rather careful
in cleaning itself, using the posterior extremities as combs, with
which the hairs were parted on either side from head to tail, forming
a straight line down the middle of the back. The membrane of the wing
was cleaned by passing the nose through its folds. On the 23rd of June
Mr. Daniell observed his Bat to be very restless, and this condition
lasted for about an hour, the animal remaining as usual suspended
by the hinder extremities. Suddenly “she reversed her position, and
attached herself by her anterior limbs to a cross wire of the cage,
stretching her hind limbs to their utmost extent, curving the tail
upwards, and expanding the interfemoral membrane, so as to form a
perfect nest-like cavity for the reception of the young, ... which was
born on its back, perfectly destitute of hair, and blind. The mother
then cleaned it, turning it over in its nest; and afterwards, resuming
her usual position, placed the young in the membrane of her wing. She
next cleaned herself, and wrapped up the young one so closely as to
prevent any observation of the process of suckling. At the time of its
birth the young was larger than a new-born Mouse; and its hind legs and
claws were remarkably strong and serviceable, enabling it not only to
cling to its dam, but also to the deal sides of the cage. On the 24th
the animal took her food in the morning, and appeared very careful of
her young, shifting it occasionally from side to side to suckle it, and
folding it in the membranes of the tail and wings. On these occasions
her usual position was reversed. In the evening she was found dead; but
the young was still alive, and attached to the nipple, from which it
was with some difficulty removed. It took milk from a sponge, was kept
carefully wrapped up in flannel, and survived eight days; at the end of
which period its eyes were not opened, and it had acquired very little
hair.”
From these observations of Mr. Daniell it appears that the period of
gestation in the Noctule exceeds thirty-eight days, and they are of
very considerable interest with respect to the general history of the
Chiroptera, at any rate of the present family, for it is most probable
that the conduct of this female Noctule on this interesting occasion is
closely followed by other maternal Vespertilionidæ at the arrival of
their “little strangers.” Moreover, the fact of the production of only
a single young one, and the finding of only a single embryo in each of
the three females which died soon after they came into Mr. Daniell’s
possession, taken in conjunction with observations to the same effect
which have been made upon the female of the Pipistrelle, and of several
other species of Bats, would seem to show that the Bats in general
produce only one at a birth.
THE SEROTINE.[190]
Three other species of _Vesperugo_ occur in Britain. One of these,
the Serotine (_V. serotinus_), is nearly as large as the Noctule, and
closely resembles that species in some respects in its habits. The
head and body in the Serotine are about two inches and two-thirds in
length; the ears are ovate-triangular, and a little shorter than the
head; the tragus is a little more than one-third the length of the
ear; and the extremity of the tail projects nearly a quarter of an
inch from the membrane. The fur, which is soft and silky, is usually
chestnut-brown above, and yellowish-grey beneath, but it is liable
to vary more or less; British specimens being sometimes of a greyish
tinge, whilst some from the Asiatic side of the Ural Mountains are
described as having the upper parts yellowish cream-colour, and the
lower surface yellowish-white. Like the preceding species, the Serotine
is widely distributed, being found apparently over a great part of
Europe, and throughout the temperate regions of Asia, at least as far
east as the Himalayas; whilst specimens have been identified with it,
which were brought from the northern parts of Africa, as far south
as the mountains near the Gaboon. In England it is found only in the
South-eastern counties, and is said to occur in the neighbourhood of
London. Folkestone and the Isle of Wight are other recorded localities.
In France it is not uncommon, frequenting the forests, and flying
amongst the lofty trees; it is also found in the timber yards of Paris.
Like the Noctule it is late in making its appearance in the spring, and
it also flies late at night, whence its specific name. In France it
bears one young one about the end of May.
THE PARTI-COLOURED BAT.[191]
Of the Parti-coloured Bat (_Vesperugo discolor_) only a single specimen
has been taken in England, and it was obtained by Dr. Leach many years
ago at Plymouth. The probability is, as indicated by Mr. Bell, that
this individual must have been conveyed to Plymouth in the rigging of
some vessel. On the continent of Europe it is found chiefly in Russia
and Germany, but does not extend into Belgium, Holland, and France.
It has also been obtained from Central Asia and from the Himalayas.
This Bat is of the same size as the Serotine, and is perhaps the
handsomest of the European species, the fur of the upper surface being
of a fine chestnut or deep brown colour, with the extreme tips of the
hairs pale, or even sometimes white, giving the fur a finely-marbled
appearance, while that of the lower parts is grey at the base and white
at the tips, with a reddish-brown patch on the middle of the chest and
belly. The ears are about two-thirds the length of the head, oval, and
directed outwards (see figure), their outer margin produced nearly to
the angles of the mouth, and their inner margin with a projecting lobe
at the base. The Parti-coloured Bat is said to haunt towns, and to come
abroad early in the evening.
[Illustration: HEAD OF PARTI-COLOURED BAT.]
The Hairy-armed Bat (_Vesperugo Leisleri_) also for a long time founded
its claim to be regarded as a British species upon a single specimen,
but of late years it has occurred at several localities in the midland
counties of England and in Ireland. It is a little smaller than the
preceding species, the head and body measuring only two inches and a
half in length, and is characterised especially by having a broad band
of hair upon the wing-membrane along the whole course of the fore-arm.
The fur is bright chestnut above and brownish-grey on the under
surface. It is found generally about villages, and appears to take up
its residence in buildings. On the continent it seems to be pretty
generally distributed, and it extends, like the preceding species, over
the temperate parts of Asia. Specimens have also been brought from the
Azores and Madeira, and it is believed to live in Algeria.
Several other species of this genus have an almost equally wide range.
Thus one that may be called the Negro Bat (_Vesperugo maurus_) is found
along the whole of the great axis of elevation of the Old World from
the Pyrenees into China, and even extends southwards into India, Cochin
China, and Java. This species has a sooty-brown or deep-black fur,
with the tips of the hairs greyish. Kuhl’s Bat (_Vesperugo Kuhlii_)
is found throughout India, and in Persia and Southern Europe, to
Madeira. It is rather a small species, about an inch and three-quarters
long, with black fur, tipped for one-fourth of its length above with
yellowish-brown or dun-colour, and beneath with ash-colour. Another
species, Nilsson’s Bat (_Vesperugo borealis_), which has the highest
northern range of any species of the order, stretches right across the
old continent, from Scandinavia and Germany as far south as the Hartz
Mountains, to the Altai Mountains and North China. This species has a
dark-brown fur, tipped with yellowish-brown above and with ash-colour
beneath. It is about two inches long.
THE COROMANDEL BAT.[192]
Besides the preceding, which are common to Europe, there are a good
many purely Asiatic species, mostly belonging to the Indian region
and its islands. Mr. Dobson enumerates eighteen such species, the
most generally distributed of which is the Coromandel Bat (_Vesperugo
abramus_), which appears to represent in the southern parts of Asia the
Pipistrelle of the more temperate regions. It is rather larger than
the Pipistrelle, measuring an inch and three-quarters in length, and
the outer margin of the ears is straight, or very slightly concave;
the fur is dark-brown, tipped with light yellowish-brown above, and
sooty-brown with pale tips beneath, and the head, face, and neck are
yellowish-brown. This species is common in India and Ceylon, and
extends thence through China to Japan, occurring also in several
islands of the Eastern Archipelago.
Mr. Swinhoe says that it is a common house Bat at Nagasaki, in Japan.
He also found it abundantly in Hainan, and, treating it as the common
Chinese Bat, quotes the description of the Bat from the Chinese
_Gazetteer_, in which, as is usual with Chinese writers, the animal is
classed with birds. This choice description is as follows:--“Peenfoo,
or Bat, shaped like a Mouse, has thin flesh-wings uniting the four
legs, and extending to the tail. In winter stows away; in summer comes
out. In daytime lies prostrate; in night flies. One name for it is
Foo-yeh, or Belly-wings. It is now called Feishoo, or Flying Mouse.”
THE THICK-FOOTED BAT.[193]
In this species, which inhabits Northern India, Tenasserim, the
Andaman and Philippine Islands, and the Islands of Java and Sumatra,
the bases of the thumbs and the soles of the feet are furnished with
broad, fleshy pads, which on the feet form nearly circular discs,
and are doubtless organs of adhesion, analogous to the more perfect
sucking discs present in an American member of the family (_Thyroptera
tricolor_). These organs probably assist the Bat in clinging to the
under surfaces of large leaves and fruit, a habit which is common to
many tropical species of Bats. It is remarkable that in this species,
as in the _Thyroptera_, the claws on both the thumbs and the toes,
although acute, are very small.
The Thick-footed Bat is about an inch and three-quarters in length of
body, with a tail an inch and a quarter long. It is covered with a
fine, dense, and moderately long fur, of a bright reddish-brown colour
above, paler beneath. There is only one pre-molar on each side in the
upper and two in the lower jaw, and this character, with the presence
of the foot-pads, serves to distinguish the sub-genus _Tylonycteris_ of
Professor Peters, to which this species belongs.[194]
TEMMINCK’S BAT.[195]
A few species, very nearly allied to the preceding, form the genus
_Scotophilus_, in which the outer margin of the ear likewise comes
down to the level of the angle of the mouth, but there are only two
incisor teeth in the upper jaw, instead of four as in _Vesperugo_.
These are stout-bodied Bats, with the muzzle nearly naked, the limbs
strong, and the wing-membranes very thick and leathery, and scarcely
encroached upon by hair. They are confined to the Eastern Hemisphere,
and generally to its warmer parts, the species being found in Africa,
Southern Asia and its islands, and in Australia. The best-known species
is Temminck’s Bat (_Scotophilus Temminckii_), which enjoys a wide range
from India and Ceylon eastward through Burmah and Southern China to the
Eastern Archipelago, extending to the Moluccas and Philippine Islands.
It is rather more than three inches in length, and varies considerably
in colour, but is generally dark olive-brown above, and reddish or
yellowish-white beneath. The fur, as throughout the genus, is short
and close. The ear is peculiar in its form, and its outer margin
sweeps round on the cheek and terminates in a convex lobe; the tragus
is narrow and pointed, and considerably curved forwards and inwards.
Temminck’s Bat is very abundant in the countries which it inhabits,
and is one of the most prominent species of the group, seeing that it
lives in large bands, often of several hundred individuals, in the
roofs of houses and in hollow trees, and that it flies very early in
the evening, in fact before the commencement of twilight. Temminck says
that it feeds principally on White Ants (_Termites_).
[Illustration: HEAD OF TEMMINCK’S BAT. (_After Dobson._)]
The Harlequin Bat (_Scotophilus ornatus_), another Indian species, is
remarkable for its coloration, which is a pale tawny-brown, curiously
variegated with white spots. It has been obtained in India, Burmah, and
Yunnan.
[Illustration: WELWITSCH’S BAT. (_Half natural size._ From the
_Proceedings of the Zoological Society._)]
WELWITSCH’S BAT.[196]
This curious Bat, originally described by Dr. Gray from a specimen
sent from Angola by the late Dr. Welwitsch, is especially remarkable
for the brightness and variegation of its colours. The general tint
of the fur is brown, the hairs being black at the base, with brown
tips, which are longer and paler on the hairs of the lower surface,
rendering the fur of that part paler than that of the back. The
head also is pale, and the muzzle shows an orange tint, as do the
ears, which are longer than the head, and rather acute, with a long
pointed tragus, reaching nearly half-way up the ear. But the most
striking peculiarity of the species consists in the colouring of the
wings, which are yellowish-brown, dotted with black near the body,
and beyond this chiefly blackish-brown, with numerous yellow dots
arranged more or less regularly in curved lines, while a broad band
of brownish-orange, bearing a few black dots, follows the course of
the fore-arm, and gives origin at the wrist to three other bands of
the same colour, one running down the margin of the wing and enclosing
the first and second fingers, the other two following the course
of the third and fourth fingers, and thus breaking the dark ground
colour of the wing into three triangular patches. The occurrence of
this peculiar mode of coloration in a Bat is the more remarkable as
it is reproduced in at least two quite distinct species, namely, the
Oriental _Vespertilio formosus_ and _Kerivoula picta_, and in all these
must probably subserve the same purpose, which Mr. Dobson with much
justice supposes to be the protection of the animal by assimilating its
appearance to that of withered leaves. The arms and legs in Welwitsch’s
Bat are yellow, but the feet are black. The interfemoral membrane is
yellowish-brown, with a few black dots, especially towards its margins.
The length of the head and body is about three inches. Of the habits of
this Bat nothing is recorded.
THE NEW ZEALAND BAT.[197]
[Illustration: NEW ZEALAND BAT. (_Half natural size._ From the
_Proceedings of the Zoological Society_.)]
Two species of Bats have been ascertained to inhabit New Zealand, and
both present characters which isolate them systematically, just as
much as their distant insular habitation does absolutely. The present
species was discovered by J. R. Forster, the naturalist who accompanied
Captain Cook, and described by him under the name of _Vespertilio
tuberculatus_. It has short rounded ears; there are cutaneous lobes at
the angles of the mouth, and three true molars on each side in both
jaws. The upper incisors are in pairs, the inner ones much larger than
the outer, and are separated from the canines; the pre-molars are
small and pointed, and the molars of the ordinary form in the allied
genera. The tragus is short, rather broad, and rounded at the tip.
The wing-membranes spring from the base of the toes; the interfemoral
membrane is large, and contains the long tail, of which the tip only
projects; and the heel-spurs are long, extending one-third of the
distance between the heel and the tip of the tail.
In its form and general proportions this Bat resembles the common
British Pipistrelle, as also in the characters of the skull. In its
dentition it has a still closer affinity to an Australian species,
Gould’s Bat (_Scotophilus Gouldii_). The fur is of a blackish-brown
colour on the head and back, becoming chestnut-brown on the rump;
the lower surface is of a similar colour, but browner, and becomes
reddish-brown towards the tail. The hairs are of one colour throughout
their length. The length of the head and body is rather more than
two inches, and that of the tail about an inch and a half. This Bat
inhabits the middle island of New Zealand. Nothing appears to be known
of its habits.
THE MOUSE-COLOURED BAT.[198]
The genus _Vespertilio_, as now restricted, comprehends a very
considerable number of species distributed in nearly all parts of the
world. It differs from _Vesperugo_ in having the outer margin of the
ear terminated opposite the level of the tragus, and not produced
towards the angle of the mouth, and is further characterised by the
nostrils being simple and crescent-shaped, and scarcely projecting from
the muzzle. Eight species inhabit Europe, and five of these are found
in Britain.
The Common Bat of the continent of Europe, the Mouse-coloured Bat
of Prof. Bell (_Vespertilio murinus_), is a large species more than
three inches and a half in length. Its fur is of a pale reddish-brown
colour above and greyish-white beneath, but with the bases of all the
hairs black; the head is long, the ears oval, narrowed towards the
apex, as long as the head, and the tragus is nearly half as long as
the ear, narrow, pointed, with its inner margin quite straight. The
membranes are of a yellowish-brown colour. _Vespertilio murinus_ is met
with in the north-western Himalayas, and extends thence through Syria
into Northern Africa. It is common in Central and Southern Europe,
but in England is one of the rarest Bats; in fact the only known
British-caught specimen was taken (most conveniently) in the gardens of
the old British Museum. Its claim to be considered indigenous rests,
therefore, upon a very insecure foundation. In many parts of Europe,
however, this species is exceedingly abundant, and lives by hundreds
together, chiefly in church-towers and other similar localities,
issuing forth in the evening to prey upon the insects which fly at that
time. Moths are said to be its favourite victims, and the harder parts
of these insects, with portions of the wings, are found unaltered in
the Bat’s excrement. Notwithstanding their social habits, these Bats
are exceedingly quarrelsome; they fight vigorously with their sharp
teeth and the claws of their thumbs, often tearing each other severely,
and even breaking the slender bones in the wings of their adversaries.
[Illustration: HEAD OF MOUSE-COLOURED BAT.]
NATTERER’S BAT.[199]
The Reddish-grey Bat, or Natterer’s Bat (_Vespertilio Nattereri_), is
an undoubted native of this country, although it appears to be local
in its distribution. It has been taken near London, at Swaffham in
Cambridgeshire, at Colchester and Norwich, at Chislehurst (hibernating
in a chalk cavern), and at Arrow, near Alcester, in Warwickshire. It
has also occurred in Ireland. It inhabits the continent of Europe from
the Ural Mountains westward to Belgium and France, and in the south
occurs on the shores of the Mediterranean. Apparently its range does
not extend into Asia.
Natterer’s Bat has the fur reddish-grey above, and whitish beneath,
the hairs of which it is composed being dark towards the base, with
light tips. The ears are oblong-ovate, and about as long as the head,
and the tragus is nearly two-thirds the length of the ear; but the
most distinctive character of the species consists in the margin of
the interfemoral membrane, from the tips of the spurs to that of the
tail, being fringed with a row of long stiff hairs. In its social
habits this Bat seems to agree with the Mouse-coloured Bat, but is much
more amiable in its disposition. Specimens received by Mr. Bell from a
cavern in the chalk at Chislehurst (where they were found hibernating
in company with several other species) were kept alive for a time by
feeding them on bits of raw meat, and exhibited “great familiarity of
disposition, not only by their friendliness towards their companions,
but by their readiness in taking food from the hand, and in allowing
themselves to be interfered with without evincing fear or anger.” These
Bats were active in their habits, running and climbing about the cage
with great agility. The sociability of character of Natterer’s Bat is
still more strikingly shown by the curious description given in the
second edition of Bell’s “British Quadrupeds” of a colony observed in
the roof of Arrow Church, near Alcester. In a dark retreat, between the
ceiling of the church and the tiled roof, “the Bats were seen adhering,
by all their extremities, to the under surface of the row of tiles
which forms the crest or ridge of the roof (partly supported, however,
by the upper tier of roof-tiles on which the ridge-tiles rested), and
others clinging to them, until a mass was made up three or four inches
thick, six or seven wide, and about four feet in length. It would be
wrong to call this their place of repose, as they presented a most
singular scene of activity, the constant endeavour of those outside
being to penetrate the mass, probably for warmth; and to do this they
were continually poking their noses between those nearest to them, and
then forcing in their bodies, to be in their turn again pushed to the
outside. In this manner a regular bickering was kept up in the whole
mass. However, they seemed to be very gentle, and to have no idea of
biting or otherwise annoying each other.”
DAUBENTON’S BAT.[200]
Daubenton’s Bat is another species which is almost confined to Europe.
It is generally distributed over that continent from Finland and
the Ural Mountains to Ireland and the Mediterranean, but is only of
doubtful occurrence in North-western Asia. It is about two inches
in length; its ears are about three-fourths the length of the head,
oval, with the outer margin sinuated, and the inner margin folded in;
the tragus is narrow, rather obtuse at the apex, and about half the
length of the ear; the tail is longer than the body; the fur is usually
reddish-brown, but sometimes dark brown or greyish-brown above, and
ash-grey beneath; and the wing-membranes show a slight reddish tinge.