THE fruit-eating Bats (Frugivora, Wagner), called Megachiroptera, or Large Bats, by Mr. Dobson, on account of the comparatively large size of most of the species, are characterised by having the face elongated and Dog-like (see [above illustration])—whence the name of Flying Foxes is often applied to them by European residents in the countries where they occur—the ears simple and usually pointed, but with the sides uniting, so as to form a complete ring at the base, the nose without any leaf-like appendages, the tail short or altogether deficient, the interfemoral membrane, or the membrane between the legs, which in our ordinary Bats encloses the tail, reduced to very small dimensions, and the molar teeth furnished with flattish crowns, along the middle of which runs a longitudinal furrow ([figured below]). The free thumb is long, and armed with a strong hooked claw, and the first, or index finger, in nearly all the species, is also terminated by a claw.

FRUIT BATS OF CEYLON AT HOME.

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LARGER IMAGE]

The species of Frugivorous Bats, of which about seventy have been described, agree very closely in their general characters, and constitute a single family, to which the name of Pteropidæ has been given, derived from that of the oldest and most extensive of its genera, Pteropus (wing-foot). They are distributed all over the warmer parts of the Eastern hemisphere and the islands of the Pacific. Wherever they occur, they present nearly the same form, and generally a very similar style of coloration, whilst in their diet they stick most religiously to fruits, for although some have been found in captivity to feed on the flesh of birds and rats, and others are charged with catching and eating fish, in the former case some allowance must be made for the artificial condition of the animal, which probably produced a morbid appetite, heightened by the fact that the supply of his natural food had been exhausted; and the second statement seems to rest exclusively on the observed fact of these Bats on leaving their roosts at sunset skimming close over the surface of water, and sometimes even dipping into it; but the object of these evolutions, as remarked by Mr. Dobson, “is probably, in the first instance, to drink, and, secondly, to rid themselves of some of the numerous parasites with which they are commonly infested.” Sir James Emerson Tennent, however, says of the Ceylonese species, that “insects, caterpillars, birds’ eggs, and young birds are devoured by them; and the Singhalese say that the Flying Fox will even attack a Tree Snake,” but these statements are not confirmed by other writers, and from the reference to the Singhalese, it seems probable that they are founded upon hearsay evidence. Mr. Dobson, however, has suggested that one species (the Cynonycteris amplexicaudata) feeds occasionally upon the shell-fish that it finds upon the shore, and in this opinion he is supported by Mr. W. T. Blanford, who found the species upon the island of Kishm, in the Persian Gulf, a spot so barren that he thinks the Bats would starve if they depended upon fruits for their nourishment.

DENTITION OF THE EGYPTIAN FRUIT-BAT.

The habits of the Flying Fox of Ceylon (Pteropus medius) are so well described by Sir James Emerson Tennent, that we may here quote his observations upon that species, especially as they will apply, mutatis mutandis, to the members of the family in general. He says:—“They feed, amongst other things, on the guava, the plantain, the rose-apple, and the fruit of the various fig-trees. Flying Foxes are abundant in all the maritime districts, especially at the season when the pulum-imbul (Eriodendron orientale, Stead.), one of the silk-cotton trees, is putting forth its flower-buds, of which they are singularly fond. By day they suspend themselves from the highest branches, hanging by the claws of the hind-legs, with the head turned upwards, and pressing the chin against the breast. At sunset taking wing, they hover, with a murmuring sound occasioned by the beating of their broad membranous wings, around the fruit-trees, on which they feed till morning, when they resume their pensile attitude as before. [See [Plate 9]]

“A favourite resort of these Bats is the lofty india-rubber trees, which on one side overhang the Botanic Gardens of Paradenia, in the vicinity of Kandy. Thither for some years past they have congregated, chiefly in the autumn, taking their departure when the figs of the Ficus elastica are consumed. Here they hang in such prodigious numbers, that frequently large branches give way beneath their accumulated weight. Every forenoon, between the hours of 9 and 11, they take to wing, apparently for exercise, and possibly to sun their wings and fur, and dry them after the dews of the early morning. On these occasions their numbers are quite surprising, flying in clouds as thick as Bees or Midges. After these recreations, they hurry back to their favourite trees, chattering and screaming like Monkeys, and always wrangling and contending angrily for the most shady and comfortable places in which to hang for the rest of the day protected from the sun. The branches they resort to soon become almost divested of leaves, these being stripped off by the action of the Bats attaching and detaching themselves by means of their hooked feet. At sunset they fly off to their feeding-grounds, probably at a considerable distance, as it requires a large area to furnish sufficient food for such multitudes.

“In all its movements and attitudes, the action of the Pteropus is highly interesting. If placed upon the ground, it is almost helpless, none of its limbs being calculated for progressive motion; it drags itself along by means of the hook attached to each of its extended thumbs, pushing at the same time with those of its hind feet. Its natural position is exclusively pensile; it moves laterally from branch to branch with great ease, by using each foot alternately, and climbs, when necessary, by means of its claws.