Looking at the skeleton of a Bat, we shall find the vertebral column short, the neck short-boned but broad, the spinal cord being of great thickness at this part though reduced to a mere thread at the hips. The ribs are usually flattened and connected to a strong breastbone, which has a prominent keel for the attachment of powerful muscles controlling the wings. The tail controls the web connecting the hind legs, which acts as a rudder in flight and as a net helping to capture and retain the larger insects upon which the Bat lives.
[Pl. 12.]][C 30.
Lesser or Pigmy Shrew.
Sorex minutus.
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[Pl. 13.]][C 31.
Great Bat or Noctule.
Nyctalus noctula.
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