Chapter 37

CHAPTER IV.FAMILY IV.—VESPERTILIONIDÆ, OR TRUE BATS.

The GenusVespertilioand the Family Vespertilionidæ—Characteristics: Nostrils—Tail—Ears—Dentition—Diet—Distribution—LONG-EAREDBAT—Ears—Distribution—Asleep—In Captivity—BARBASTELLE—Characteristics—Distribution—Habits—Flight—In Captivity—BIG-EAREDBAT—TOWNSEND’SBAT—The GenusNyctophilus—Its True Place—Characteristics—GEOFFROY’SNYCTOPHILE—PIPISTRELLE—Distribution—Diet—NOCTULE—Natural Food—Mr. Daniell’s Observations—SEROTINE—PARTI-COLOUREDBAT—HAIRY-ARMEDBAT—NEGROBAT—KUHL’SBAT—NILSSON’SBAT—COROMANDELBAT—THICK-FOOTEDBAT—TEMMINCK’SBAT—WELWITSCH’SBAT—NEWZEALANDBAT—MOUSE-COLOUREDBAT—NATTERER’SBAT—DAUBENTON’SBAT—WHISKEREDBAT—BLACK ANDORANGEBAT—PAINTEDBAT—HARPYBAT—REDBAT—SCHREIBER’SBAT—BROWNPIGBAT—STRAW-COLOUREDBAT

DENTITION of THETHICK-LEGGED 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 genusVespertilio. 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 genusVespertilio, 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 ofVespertiliois 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 nameVespertilio, as Batpar excellence, constitutes the type of the family Vespertilionidæ, and gives its name to the Vespertilionine alliance. In point of fact the genusVespertilioand 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.

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 moderatelength 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 (seefigure, 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.

BRITISH BATS AT HOME.❏LARGER IMAGE

BRITISH BATS AT HOME.

❏LARGER IMAGE

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.

LONG-EARED BATS IN FLIGHT.

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, thePlecotiof 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 cartilagethe 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.

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 (seefigure).

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 pallidusis an inhabitant of North America,Histiotus velatusis found in Brazil, andOtonycteris Hemprichiioccurs in Nubia.

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 inPlecotus, 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.

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. Thefur 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.”

EAR AND HEAD OF TOWNSEND’S BAT. (After Allen.)

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.

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 inPlecotusandSynotus.

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 theannexed 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).

The genusNyctophilusincludes 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 withtheMegadermsor theRhinolophidæ. 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 toPlecotus.

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,1–16, canines,1–11–1, pre-molars,1–12–2, molars,3–33–3.

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 namedN. timoriensis, is only known to occur in Western Australia; another is from New South Wales, and the third from Van Diemen’s Land.

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 genusVesperugo, 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.

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 specimenhas 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 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.

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 isgregarious 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 WhiteVespertilio 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 youngone, 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.

Three other species ofVesperugooccur 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.

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 (seefigure), 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.

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.

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 ChineseGazetteer, 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.”

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 theThyroptera, 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-genusTylonycterisof Professor Peters, to which this species belongs.[194]

Back to Index Next