[1] Report by resident-commissioner H.C. Sloley, for 1902-1903.
BAT,[1] a name for any member of the zoological order Chiroptera (q.v.).
Bats are insectivorous animals modified for flight, with slight powers
of progression on the ground; the patagium or "flying-membrane" of some
squirrels and of _Galeopithecus_ (q.v.) probably indicates the way in
which the modification was effected. They are distributed throughout the
world, but are most abundant in the tropics and the warmer parts of the
temperate zones; within these limits the largest forms occur. There is
great variation in size; the Malay "flying-fox" (_Pteropus edulis_)
measures about a foot in the head and body, and has a wing-spread of 5
ft.; while in the smaller forms the head and body may be only about 2
in., and the wing-spread no more than a foot. The coloration is
generally sombre, but to this there are exceptions; the fruit-bats are
brownish yellow or russet on the under surface; two South American
species are white; Blainville's chin-leafed bat is bright orange; and
the Indian painted bat (_Cerivoula picta_) with its deep orange dress,
spotted with black on the wing-membranes, has reminded observers of a
large butterfly. In habits bats are social, nocturnal and crepuscular;
the insect-eating species feed on the wing, in winter in the temperate
regions they migrate to a warmer climate, or hibernate, as do the
British bats. The sense-organs are highly developed; the wing-membranes
are exceedingly sensitive; the nose-leaf is also an organ of perception,
and the external ear is specially modified to receive sound-waves. Most
bats are insect-eaters, but the tropical "flying foxes" or fox-bats of
the Old World live on fruit; some are blood-suckers, and two feed on
small fish. Twelve species are British, among which are the pipistrelle
(_Pipistrellus pygmaeus_, or _P. pipistrellus_), the long-eared bat
(_Plecotus auritus_), the noctule (_Pipistrellus [Pterygistes]
noctulus_) the greater and lesser horseshoe bats (_Rhinolophus
ferrum-equinum_ and _R. hipposiderus_), &c. (See FLYING-FOX and
VAMPIRE.)