The two forms referred to by Mr. Bates in the above extract were probably only colour varieties of Vampyrus spectrum, but several nearly related species occur in tropical America. Thus, Chrotopterus auritus differs from the preceding only in having a short tail like that of Phyllostoma, and the second lower premolar small, and placed within the line of the teeth; Lophostoma sylvicola, amblyotis, and bidens, all from Brazil, have the second lower premolar small, but in the row, the horseshoe only developed at the sides, the lower lip as in Phyllostoma, the first phalanx of the middle finger a little shorter than the metacarpal, and only two incisors in the lower jaw; Schizostoma minutum, elongatum, and Behnii, whilst agreeing with Lophostoma in the proportion of the first phalanx of the middle finger, have the horseshoe and lower lip as in Vampyrus; and Trachyops cirrhosus has the lower margin of the horseshoe indistinct, the lower lip with a double row of warts and a deep furrow, and the second lower premolar very small, and placed within the line of the row of teeth. These Bats are all inhabitants of the tropical parts of America.
Neuwied’s Large-leafed Bat (Macrophyllum Neuwiedii) is one of the few species of the present family in which the tail is respectably developed. The ears are of moderate size and separate; the horseshoe is well developed, and the nose-leaf very long, lance-shaped, and pointed. The dentition is as in Phyllostoma. This is a small Bat, measuring only about three inches and one-sixth in total length, of which the tail occupies one inch and one-third. The fur is of a sooty-brown colour, paler beneath; the nose-leaf is darker, and the membranes lighter in colour than the body; the interfemoral membrane has about half a dozen curved lines of small dark points towards its apex. Neuwied’s Bat was discovered by Prince Maximilian in Brazil in the forests of the banks of the Moucouri River. He describes it as not very abundant, and as passing the day clinging to rocks and the trunks of trees. Its stomach contained remains of insects.
The Large-eared Spear-nosed Bat (Lonchorhina aurita), an allied species with a long tail and a very long nose-leaf, is a native of the West Indies. The tail traverses the interfemoral membrane in the fashion of that of a Vespertilionid Bat. The nose-leaf has a distinct rib running up its middle, and at its base there is a deep pit divided into two by a partition on each side of which are the nostrils, and the place of the horseshoe is taken by a curious three-leaved process which stands out in front of the nostrils.
THE GREAT-EARED LEAF BAT.[238]
The Great-eared Leaf Bat, an inhabitant of St. Domingo and Jamaica, is the type of a remarkable little genus, characterised by having the ears very large, membranous, and united at the base by a membrane; the nasal appendage erect; the interfemoral membrane large, cut out behind in a broad curve running from the tip of one spur to the other; and the tail long, projecting by its last joint beyond the interfemoral membrane. The head is rather long, and the jaws armed with four incisors in each—the intermediate ones in the upper jaw being larger than the lateral—two premolars in the upper, and three in the lower jaw, and three true molars in each jaw. The species of this genus occur in the West Indies, Mexico, and California.
The Great-eared Leaf Bat (Macrotus Waterhousii) is a small species, the head and body measuring two inches and a half in length, and the tail one inch and one-sixth. Its fur is of a mouse-colour, paler beneath, and the nose-leaf is lance-shaped.
Our knowledge of the habits of this Bat is chiefly derived from observations made in Jamaica by Mr. Gosse and Mr. Osburn. The former says that it is one of the commonest of the Jamaica Chiroptera, and that it is more addicted than any other species to visiting lighted rooms at night. Mr. Osburn obtained it in abundance from caves; and he adds that although it occurs in houses, it there always inhabits the cellars, and is never found in roofs. The great breadth of the wings gives it during flight an appearance of being larger than it really is, and its flight, according to Mr. Gosse, is not so noiseless as in Bats generally, but accompanied by an audible rushing sound. When on the ground, it makes no attempt to crawl, but springs at once into the air, and takes flight as readily as a bird. Mr. Osburn obtained many females with their young, and describes the mode in which the latter adhere to their mothers. He says the nipple was held by the little hooked teeth of the young animal, while the fur, or even the thigh of the opposite side, was grasped by its feet, so that the young Bat lay diagonally across its mother’s belly. The food of the Great-eared Leaf Bat consists for the most part of insects. Mr. Osburn found in the stomach of one a yellowish mass, with fragments of the hard parts of insects, among which were two short legs with strong claws, which probably belonged to some species of Orthoptera.
From one observation it would appear that this Bat is supposed sometimes to feed on fruits. Mr. Osburn says that at Mount Pleasant, St. Ann’s, his attention was called to a number of spirts on the wall in an open verandah, on examining which he says he detected seeds of the fustic berry sticking to the wall. He was informed that they were produced by these Bats, which came in at night, and hitched themselves up, when a chewing might be distinctly heard, and then these splashes on the wall. One let the legs and wings of a large Grasshopper drop. The berries said to be particularly affected by these Bats were those of the fustic (Morus tinctoria), the bread-nut (Brosimum alicastrum), and the rose-apple (Eugenia jambos), all of which are mentioned by Mr. Osburn as favourite articles of food with Stenoderma perspicillatum, a true fruit-eating Bat.[239]