(_By Richard Harlan, M.D._)
Of the numerous creatures which attract our admiration, or excite
our fears, the greater part display their appetites, or develope
their instincts, during the day time only; especially--with few
exceptions--all those remarkable for beauty of plumage, and vocal
melody. Predacious animals are chiefly distinguished for their nocturnal
habits; and ideas of rapine, terror and blood, are ever associated with
the tiger, the hyena, and the wolf. Among the feathered tribes, the
_owl_ and the _bat_, also companions of darkness, are shunned
by many, as horrible objects, and full of ill-omen. Haunted castles,
ruined battlements, and noisome caverns, are the chosen abodes of these
noctural maurauders, and it is to such associations that these animals
are indebted for the unamiable character they have obtained. The
prejudices conceived against that portion of these animals, with which
we are familiar, are founded entirely upon these their habits; for small
quadrupeds, reptiles and fish, constitute the food of the first, whilst
insects and fruit suffice for the other. It is at the close of the
day, when the hum of nature is beginning to subside, that the patient
_bat_ steals from his dark retreat, and spreads his leathery
wings in search of his food.
[Illustration]
The new species of this little flying quadruped, which we are now about
to notice, belongs to a very large and respectable family. In the days
of Linnaeus, they all--from their appearance at twilight--went by the
family name of _Vespertilio_. They further belong to the order
_Carnivora_, their teeth being constructed for masticating flesh;
though some--and in this they resemble ourselves--are also fond of
fruit. In one important point, the whole race has a common character, in
their organ of flight. The bones of the fingers are extremely elongated,
and united by a membrane, which is continued down the side of the body;
and extending on the leg as far as the tarsus, also unites the legs and
tail. Agreeing so universally in this particular, they form a very
natural family, under the appropriate term. Cheiroptera, constructed
from two Greek words, signifying _hand and wing_.
The vespertilio are again divided into GENERA and
_Species_,--divisions which are grounded on certain peculiarities
of dental structure, and various developements of the brachial, digital,
and interfemoral appendages, with other modifications of the organs of
progression. These genera include species which are discovered in every
habitable part of the globe, of various magnitudes, from the size of a
half grown cat, to that of a half grown mouse.
Of this numerous family only three genera, of modern authors, inhabit
the United States, viz. RHINOPOMA, VESPERTILIO, and TAPHOZOUS. Seven
species, exclusive of the present, are all that have been hitherto
discovered in North America.
We propose to dedicate this new species, to our valuable friend the
justly celebrated naturalist J.J. AUDUBON, as a small tribute of
respect to his eminent talents, and the highly important services he
has rendered science. The drawing which accompanies this paper, is
from his inimitable pencil.
This species was first observed, during the summer of 1829, when an
individual female flew into the apartment of the late Dr. Hammersly,
then one of the resident physicians of the Pennsylvania hospital: on
the subsequent evening a male individual, of the same species, was
also taken in the same manner. In August 1830, a very fine specimen
was brought to the Academy of Natural Sciences, and Mr. Audubon informs
me that the species has very recently been observed in New York.
The natural characters of the species are--General colour black,
sprinkled with gray above and beneath; ears black and naked; auriculum,
short and broad or obtusely triangular; interfemoral membrane, sparsely
hairy; last joint of the tail free: two incisors, with notched crowns,
on each side of the canine teeth of the upper jaw, with a broad
intervening space without teeth.
The dimensions are.--Total length 3 inches 7 tenths; tail 1.7; length
of ear 0.5. breadth of ear 0.4; length of leg 1.7; spread of wings
10.7. inhabit Pennsylvania and New York, and probably the southern
states.--_Cab. of Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad._ (Abridged from
Featherstonhaugh's _Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural
Science._)
* * * * *