. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. GEOFFIiUY'S m'CTOFUILE. 29V the Mer/aJerms or the Rhiaolophi'hi'. But apart ti-om the presence of the nose-leaf, which is of very simple structure, the charact«i-s of these Bats are in such close agreement w-ith those of the Yesper- tiliouidw, that there seems to be no doubt that this is their true position. They appear to be most nearly related to Plecotus. The nasal appendages are very simple, consisting of a transvei-se front piece placed immediately above the nostrils, and having its upper margin straight, and a second portion, also tr
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. GEOFFIiUY'S m'CTOFUILE. 29V the Mer/aJerms or the Rhiaolophi'hi'. But apart ti-om the presence of the nose-leaf, which is of very simple structure, the charact«i-s of these Bats are in such close agreement w-ith those of the Yesper- tiliouidw, that there seems to be no doubt that this is their true position. They appear to be most nearly related to Plecotus. The nasal appendages are very simple, consisting of a transvei-se 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 firat than the latter from the nostrils, and thickly clothed with short bristly hairs. The eara are large, ovoid, united at their bases by a membrane which runs acioss the top of the head, and furnished with a short broad tragus. The dentition diflers from that of the allied genera. There are two separated incisors and only one pre-niolar ou each side in the. upper jaw, and the lower jaw has only two pre-molars on each side. Thus the dental formula is— incisors, ~, canines, J-=?, pi-e-molai's, ],5^, molai-s, ^^. Geoffrey's Nyctopliile, which appears to be one ot the commonest sj>ecies, as also the one fii-st described, is a small Bat, the head and body measuring i-ather 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 inliaiiitant 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 tlit about the shrubs and smaller trees in search of insects. Thi-ee other species of this gen
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecta, booksubjectanimals
