Chapter XV
THE LEMUROIDA (continued).
THE GENERA LEMUR AND CHEIROGALE.
Called by the French Makis--Restricted to Madagascar--Their Activity--Different Species--How to distinguish them--THE RING-TAILED LEMUR--Reason for the Name--Tail--Colour of Body--Eye--Hand and Foot--Geographical Range--Anatomical Peculiarities--Playfulness in Captivity--THE WHITE-FRONTED LEMUR--Specimen in the Zoological Gardens--THE LEMUR OF MAYOTTE--Where Found--Colour--Manner of Life--THE MONGOOSE LEMUR--Description of one sent to Buffon--THE RUFFED LEMUR--Described by Ellis--Domesticated Specimens--THE BLACK LEMUR--Geographical Range--Hand--Foot--GENUS CHEIROGALE--Bushy Tails--Resemblance to the Hapalemur--Nocturnal Habits--Difficult to distinguish--THE FORKED-CROWNED CHEIROGALE--Wonderful Powers of Leaping--Cry--Reason for the Name--A Nest-making Variety--Specimens in the Jardin des Plantes--Resemblance to the Galagos.
The animals which are included in the genus Lemur are popularly called by the French the Makis. They are restricted, geographically, to Madagascar, and to some of the adjacent islands, and are not found elsewhere. Instead of roaming along the boughs and through the woods with a restless activity during the night, after the manner of the Lemuroida already described, the Makis move, gambol, and jump with great agility by daylight. Resting during the hours of the night, they run along the branches after daylight, searching for their food, which consists principally of fruit and occasionally birds’ eggs, and even of the small birds themselves. They are very active, and as the conformation of their limbs adapts them for an arboreal existence, they rarely come to the ground.
Having, without exception, all the peculiarities of animals which move and prey by day, it is very curious that the species of Makis should be classified under a genus bearing the name of Lemur. But in this instance, as in many others, the original derivation of the name has but slight or even no reference to the peculiarities of the animals which are thus artificially designated by it, and of course great confusion results.
There are many species included in the genus Lemur, and there is great difficulty in discriminating between them, for many of them are very variable, and therefore it is probable that it will be much restricted with the advance of the knowledge of the zoology of Madagascar. All have a long snout, a small, flat, and long skull, and a long body with narrow flanks. The hind limbs are rather longer than the front ones, and there is a long furry tail. The feet and hands are short, and the great toe is broad; moreover, the ears are moderate in length, and are either tufted or are hairy. In some kinds the head is surrounded by a ruff of fur, and the colour of the hair differs according to the species, and is even different in individuals of the same kind.
Thus, a black Lemur, called Lemur niger, has a female which has white whiskers, and another with a black-and-white fur, which is called the Ruffed Lemur (Lemur varius), has a young one which is red, so that all these different tints having been formerly recognised as belonging to different kinds or species are now proved to be natural varieties of fewer species.
The males of many kinds differ from the females in colour, and from the young also; moreover, at certain times of the year, according to the age of the animal, the fur changes its tints, and a corresponding alteration is produced by different food, so that the great number of species of Lemur described by naturalists must be regarded with suspicion.
A careful plan in discriminating the species is to divide them after the fashion--but not with the same intention--of the late Dr. Gray, of the British Museum. He made certain groups, and called each a genus, but this last proceeding was not correct. One of his groups is as follows:--For example, Lemurs with faces without a ruff, the tail ringed, and a bald spot above the inside of the wrist.[119] The first kind about to be described belongs to this set, and is
THE RING-TAILED LEMUR--THE MACACO OF BUFFON--LEMUR CATTA--THE CAT-LIKE LEMUR.
All these titles refer to the pretty Cat-like Lemur with chinchilla-grey tints, and a banded tail of black and grey rings, which is commonly to be seen at the Zoological Gardens. It is so familiar, and has been so carefully examined, that it is advisable it should occupy some space in this description of its natural history.
The naturalist’s name for this creature aptly denotes a Cat-like resemblance--a similitude due, perhaps, partly to size, certain tints of colouring, a peculiar arching of the back, and the long tail carried aloft, recalling at once purring Pussy. The tail, a striking feature, is several inches longer than the head and body taken together; it is clothed with abundance of long, soft, fluffy hairs, and alternately marked with rings of black and white. The predominant colour of the body and legs is chinchilla-grey, with a sprinkling of reddish hairs or rusty wash on the back; the under parts, however, are pure white. The cosy covering of delicate woolly fur, shorter than on the tail, stands out, instead of being smooth and sleek. The head is of a conical shape; the flattish depressed oval ears, by no means prominent, are sparsely hairy within, and are edged with short white hairs. The muzzle is nearly bald and black; the eyes are broadly encircled by the same colour, the remainder of the head and throat being snow-white. The eye, full, conspicuous, and softly expressive, is of a rich orange hue, with a dark pupil, and the eyebrows are represented by a few long black straggling hairs. There is a moustache and beard, but no vibrissæ (smellers), as in the Cat-tribe. The hind limb far exceeding the fore-limb in height, mainly causes the attitude of back-arching when on the ground. The fore foot is a kind of diminutive flat-nailed hand, with a proportionally short thumb, and it is hairy above, but naked below, and all the fingers have expanded cushions on their last joints. The hand is not capable of being closely clenched, and the thumb reaches only to the middle of the palm. The hind feet are large, and there is a strong great toe-thumb. Moreover, a true claw adorns the next toe, and in many other respects there is a certain agreement between the foot and hand. Both are black-soled, and the beautiful tracery of the pronounced cross lines, furrows, and folds would delight the heart of a gipsy fortune-teller. The mammæ, or teats, are two in number, and are placed near the armpits. Usually the species of Lemur have but one, or at most two, little ones at a birth, and the period of gestation is about one hundred and ten days, the young Lemur being born almost naked, and nearly without fur. Their hairs are short and sparsely distributed, except on the head, where they form a kind of belt around the eyes. They cling on to their mother’s fur, and, holding on to that over her stomach and abdomen, they lie across her, so that when she draws up her legs she either hides the little one effectually, or it may be seen hairless in the folds of the mother’s groins. After a while, and as the young Lemur becomes better clothed and stronger, it leaves this snug and warm retreat, and crawls up on to the mother’s back and shoulders, and seizes her fur, and holds on with such tenacity that she can jump and bound about without unseating her little burthen.
Lemur catta inhabits a circumscribed region. Its range is along the south and west coasts of Madagascar. Social, and banding together in troops, they feed on the fruits of the forest, and occasionally, it is averred, capture insects and small birds. Those kept in confinement, however, are far less carnivorous than the smaller and livelier nocturnal Galagos to be described hereafter. They seem remarkably sensible to cold, huddling and crouching close to one another as if heat and comfort were indispensable to their nature. At such times their tails are wound round the bodies of their companions and of themselves in a very odd fashion. Ordinarily very good-natured, they like to be fondled, and come down to be fed, uttering either a grunt of satisfaction or a loud plaintive cry, but it is stated that in Madagascar when the wet season comes on they become much excited, and rush about quite careless of danger, grunting terribly. They do not tease each other like Monkeys, and do not jump about on their hind legs alone, to do mischief of all kinds; on the contrary, they leap on all-fours with great agility and quietude, and in a light-hearted sort of way. They use their hands in grasping objects given to them, and feed themselves with them; but, like the Monkeys, they often scratch with the hinder extremities, and do not use them to put food to their mouths.
On looking into their anatomy it will be noticed that the back-bone has none of those graceful curves so characteristic of man, and which are modified and less perceptible in Apes. It is made for going on all-fours and jumping, and consists of some twenty-nine pieces, or vertebræ, there being also twenty-six in the tail. Having good lungs, the chest is capacious, but is long and flattened at the sides, and there are thirteen ribs on each side, and a central breast-bone, or sternum, composed of seven pieces.
The skull has large eye-cavities, or orbits, and (as in Indris) they are not closed behind by bone, but are open there, though the angle of the lower jaw is not turned in or inflected. The diet of the Ring-tailed Lemurs being both vegetarian and of insects, or an occasional small bird, their teeth are very equally distributed as regards their kinds. There is a good set of front teeth for tearing and incising, the full number of canines for piercing and killing, and the full number of grinders. The numbers are on each side of the upper jaw--two incisors, one canine, three false, or pre-molars, and three true molars, and on each side of the lower jaw is a corresponding number. Thus this arrangement resembles that of the milk teeth of Indris, but the front teeth of the lower jaw stick out in a remarkable manner. Corresponding with their teeth are the digestive organs, which are more suited for the assimilation of vegetable food than for a purely carnivorous diet. These measure nearly seven feet in length, and the blind-gut, or cæcum, is about a foot long. There is one point of great interest in the throat of this Lemur, especially when the animal is considered as intermediate between some Carnivora and the American Monkeys. This, the organ of voice, has a small laryngeal pouch, recalling, or rather fore-shadowing, the great ones of the Howlers; and the bone at the base of the tongue (the hyoid) has a body and projections, which resemble those of the Carnivora rather than those of the Monkeys. In the wrist there is the ninth bone.
When in captivity, the Ring-tailed Lemur soon becomes attached to its keeper, and they show some powers of memory. A quartermaster of the French frigate Dupleix, who had one on board, was recognised by it when surrounded by all the crew. This little creature liked to play with the cabin-boys and the Dogs, and took charge of, and protected, a little Monkey belonging to one of the sailors. The Monkey was fondled and nursed, and cleaned with great attention by its active little friend; but corresponding kindness was not shown to the ship’s fowls, whose tails it pulled unmercifully.
THE WHITE-FRONTED LEMUR.[120]
This is easily known by its broad band of white fur encircling the forehead, cheeks, and ears, and contrasting with the black muzzle, which is long and compressed. It is restricted in its geographical range to Madagascar.
Several of these White-fronted Lemurs have been brought to Europe from time to time, and have been kept in the Zoological Gardens. Their habits are simple enough. They often exhibit great vivacity, and are much given to leaping from one object to another, in which they are aided by the pad-like structures of the hands and feet.
THE LEMUR OF MAYOTTE.[121]
There is a kind of Lemur which lives in the island of Mayotte, one of the Comoro group between Madagascar and the mainland of Africa, and which is not found elsewhere. It is known as the Lemur Mayottensis, or the Lemur of Mayotte, and is remarkable for the strange variation in the colour of its fur. Probably there are five different colours, which are peculiar to different individuals of this species, and they have all received different names. These are termed varieties. But of what are they varieties, and which is the animal whence they have varied? These questions cannot be answered; and therefore this group of forms constitutes a species--a species really being a term which includes the sum of all the possible varieties of an animal. One of the varieties is the Black-fronted Lemur, which inhabits Madagascar itself, and as there is every probability that at one time the Comoro Islands were joined on to Madagascar, the existence of apparently different species, but really only varieties, can be explained.
These animals live in companies composed of from six to twenty, in the virgin forests of Mayotte, and they may be seen in broad daylight or at night. They lead an arboreal life, but they occasionally come to the ground after fallen fruit. They are hunted with Dogs, and when closely pressed, they take refuge in the highest branches, look fixedly at their enemy, growl, and wave their tails. When they see the hunter they rush off and take prodigious leaps, and go into the very depths of the forest. Should one be wounded it will defend itself against the Dogs, and will even jump upon them and bite their ears. They are fond of fruit, and especially of the wild date, and they wander far and near in numbers seeking their favourite food.
THE MONGOOSE LEMUR, OR WOOLLY MACACO.[122]
The great naturalist Buffon had a Lemur sent to him as a present, which he kept as a pet for many years. At first it ran about the house, and was tame and full of fun, roaming here and there, and settling down before the fire like a common Cat. It was very good-natured, and became a great favourite; but with age came ill-temper, and it became cross and vicious; moreover, it was always making disturbances, so it had to be chained up. Having some ingenuity and perseverance, it managed to slip its chain now and then, and to escape. It made its way directly into the street, and used to visit a confectioner’s shop, where it very quietly and systematically roamed in search of sweets, devouring all it could lay its hands on. If it could not get sweets it would take fruit, and was quite heedless regarding the price or the rarity of its desired treats. When it was known that it had escaped, if the shop-people had not already told Buffon, every one knew where it was to be caught, and a great trouble the catching was, for it got into corners, showed fight, and bit, and resisted being touched very decidedly. The cold, however, was its great enemy, and it always suffered much from it, and finally died from its effects.
The Mongoose Lemur, as it is often called, has a long head, flat forehead, and large canine teeth. It is of a reddish-grey colour generally, the crown of the head, the face, and chin being black; moreover, there is a streak of the same colour up the forehead, and across the crown. The cheeks and the side of the forehead are iron-grey, and this and its black nose distinguish it.
It carries its fine tail well stuck up when it runs about, and jumps on all-fours from place to place, and grunts with pleasure when fed and noticed.
The last group of the genus Lemur contains kinds which have a ruff of fur on the cheeks and neck, and the ears are pencilled at the end, the wrist being moreover hairy. They are common in Madagascar, and two are worthy of notice--the Ruffed Black-and-White Lemur, and the Ruffed Black Lemur.
THE RUFFED LEMUR.[123]
Ellis, when journeying through one of the Madagascar forests, noticed, one bright, clear, and bracing morning, a peculiar shouting or hallooing, apparently at no very great distance. It was, he wrote, “not like any sound I had heard before, but resembled that of men or boys calling to each other more than anything else. At first I thought it was a number of people driving cattle out of the forest into the road. Still I heard no crashing amongst the underwood, and saw no signs of bullocks. Then I imagined it must be a number of bird-catchers, or squirrel-catchers. But on inquiring of my companions they said the noise proceeded from the Black-and-white Lemurs--Lemur macaco, or Lemur varius (Geoffroy)--of which there were great numbers in the forests. I had repeatedly seen Lemurs of more than one species in the market at Tamatave, and numbers among the people of the place. There were two or three of the large ruffed Lemurs in a house near my own dwelling, and they seemed to be quite domesticated. Though covered with thick, almost woolly, hair, they appeared to be ill at ease in wet or cold weather, but to luxuriate in the warm sunshine. I often noticed two or three of them together on a fine morning after rain raised upon their hind legs, on the outside of the house, leaning back against the wall with their fore legs spread out, evidently enjoying the warmth of the sun which was shining upon them. They are often kept tame by the natives for a long time, and numbers are sold to the masters of ships and others visiting the port. We had one on board the ship in which I made my first voyage from Madagascar. It was a fine animal, and during the twenty-eight days of our passage I had frequent opportunities of observing its disposition and habits. It was tied to a boat on deck, and in a basket under the fore part of the boat it found a partial shelter from the rain and wind. It conveyed its food--boiled rice and fruit--to its mouth by the hand; and it was gentle and sociable, seemingly grateful for any trifling notice or kindness. I frequently gave it water, which it lapped like a Dog, and occasionally a banana; and in a short time it seemed to watch my movements whenever I came on deck, jumping on my arm or shoulder if I approached the boat; but was most delighted when, attaching a long line to the short cord tied round its body, I loosened it from the boat and allowed it to run up the cords or rigging, which it ascended with astonishing ease and speed, sitting sometimes with apparent pleasure on the extremity of the yard. It was scrupulously clean, and seemed unable to endure any tar or other dirt on its shaggy coat. One morning, during a heavy gale of wind, when there was much motion of the ship and great confusion and noise among the sailors, the Lemur seemed unusually excited, and clapped its hands together, and chattered loud in a most extraordinary manner, occasioning great uneasiness amongst the crew of Malagasy sailors, who declared it was an omen of evil to the ship, and that some fearful calamity might be expected. I had felt so much interest in the sociable and apparently gentle animal on board ship, that I should have been glad to have seen some of its species in their own forest homes; but though numbers were evidently near, none of them came within sight.”
This Lemur has, as its name implies, a black-and-white fur; the white tint is very general near the skin, and black is put on in patches, the tail being completely of that colour. It has a long face and skull, with a high nose and a narrow space between the eye cavities.
THE BLACK LEMUR.[124]
It is this Lemur which has a mate with white whiskers and a white patch on the lower part of the back, whilst its own colour is uniformly black.
It inhabits the north-west of Madagascar, and the Sakalaves call it Acoumba. M. Pollen noticed one of the white-whiskered yellowish-red coloured females with a little black young one (a male) on its shoulders, and when the mother was shot, it fell with her, so tightly had it grasped her wool. They live in companies, and like the very tops of the tallest trees of the forest for their home; they are usually seen in the evening, when they make a great deal of noise with their concert of grunts and cries, and they jump from bough to bough quite as quickly as a bird flies. They have a trick of falling down suddenly, when pursued, into the underwood, and when the hunter searches for them they will be seen rushing off to a distant tree. When reared in captivity they are docile and affectionate. They like to sit on their keeper’s shoulder, and will eat nearly everything that is offered to them. Fruit they prefer, but they will crack a bird’s skull and eat the brain. In some districts of Madagascar these Lemurs are not allowed to be killed or to be kept either dead or alive, on account of some superstitious ideas of the natives.
One of the most remarkable peculiarities of this Lemur is the marked padded nature of the hand. The palm of the hand is longer than the fingers, and the thumb is not much bigger than the little or fifth finger. The fourth finger is slightly the longest, and its tip, as well as those of the other fingers, is furnished with a well-marked pad, which gives a roundness and fulness to the last joint, or phalanx. The fleshy pads of the palm and fingers are also numerous, and the largest occupies the position on the palm of the ball of the thumb in man, whilst in front of this there is a pad space on the palm close below the first joint of the index finger. A smaller pad is placed behind the roots of the third and fourth fingers, and there is a pad at the root of the fifth digit. Two long pads are seen behind this last on the outer margin of the palm, which converge towards the great pad of the base of the thumb. These six pads of the palm form an ellipsis around the centre of the hand, and are of paramount importance in preventing the jar of jumping.
The under part of the foot of the Black Lemur is at first sight very much like a hard palm, with a great thumb, for the great toe is large and thumb-like. The four other toes are finger-like, and are very slightly larger than the fingers of the hand; and the sole, although narrow and rather elongate, resembles a palm somewhat. The second toe is small; and although it has a small pad beneath its tip, a distinct and sharp nail projects from the last phalanx. All the other toes have large pads beneath their tips, and assume more or less of a rounded shape at the ends. The great toe’s pad is large and almost circular in outline. There is a large pad at the base of the great toe, which is almost divided into two by a furrow, and each of the remaining toes has a small pad at its junction with the sole, and there is one along the outer border. All these tactile pads with cushions of fat on the palm and sole act admirably as buffers, and prevent injury to the joints of the bones, as the Lemur terminates its leap by bringing its extremities in sudden contact with boughs or small trees. Moreover, they enable the animal to distinguish substances by their very sensitive surface. By being placed at the base of the fingers and toes on the palm or sole, and by being separate and along the edge of elliptical spaces, the movement of the fingers and toes still retains their independence. Moreover, the existence of a central spot between the pads favours the movements of the palm and sole, and assists in the opposable nature of the thumb and first toe. The pads on the under part of the ends of the fingers and toes appear not only to act as cushions, but to enable the Lemur to distinguish the nature of the substances with which they come in contact. They are therefore sensitive, and may be termed extraordinary organs of touch. A circlet of very long hairs projects and radiates round the ears of this Lemur, and gives the animal a very peculiar appearance.
GENUS CHEIROGALE.[125]
There are many very small bushy-tailed and almost Rat or Squirrel-like Lemuroida in Madagascar, which have a most curious habit. In England Hedgehogs, Dormice, and Bats--and in other countries the Marmot and other animals--hide up on the approach of winter, and go off to sleep for many a long day until warm weather returns, and food can be obtained; and this is done also by many reptiles, and not a few insects. They take their winter’s sleep like the Water-rat--
“And when cold winter comes, and the water-plants die, And his little brooks yield him no further supply, Down into his burrow he cozily creeps, And quietly through the long winter-time sleeps.”
And in Madagascar, where the heat is always great, and there is a wet and dry season, food being always in great abundance, these little bushy-tailed things go off at a certain time into a nest of leaves, and doze away for weeks, whilst their fellows are scampering around them during the moonlight nights, and imitating them in their sleep whilst all nature glows in the tropical sun. In temperate climates where there is a winter, this long sleep is called wintering, or hibernating, and in the hot climate it is called the summer sleep, or æstivation.
Why some animals should do this and others not, why some should sleep long in winter, and others in summer, and why all should be most regular in their time of taking their nap, are questions well worthy of any one’s attention, and especially because they cannot be answered. Some of the hibernating animals awake for a little time now and then, and take food, but others get quieter and quieter, their breathing becomes slower and slower, their heart beats with diminished force and rapidity, and their temperature falls; but, on the other hand, the irritability of the muscles, especially of those of the heart, increases; and in these--for instance, in many of the Bats--the hibernation is not a commonplace, long-continued slumber, but a necessary matter, and the awakened sleeper dies.
Let us notice what takes place in the hibernators. They get into a place out of the light, and where the temperature is tolerably equable, and after having got nice and fat previously, they settle down in different positions, according to their shape, and go to sleep. They avoid too cold places, and get out of the range of the action of frost. Now taking no food, breathing very slowly, with very slow pulses, and indulging in no exercise, there is very little exhaustion going on. The quantity of fat stored up by the animal in its body generally consumes away, but very tardily, for the oxygen in the blood is at its lowest ebb, and the arterial blood resembles that of the dull purple veins. Under ordinary circumstances, if the whole of the blood is in this condition, the muscles of that side of the heart which propels the pure blood throughout the frame lose their power of contraction, and death ensues. But in their hibernating condition their irritability is increased, and they pump the impure blood as well as they did the bright scarlet fluid of old. At last the fat is consumed, the animal gets thin, and by the time the spring comes it is ready for its new life.
Now the little Cheirogales of Madagascar certainly do part of all these wonderful things. They get fat, and their tails attain a most dignified size; then they retire for their summer sleep, grow thinner and thinner, and finally come forth with such miserable vestiges of tails, so thin and miserable-looking. Their time of quietude is during the hot and dry season, and is equivalent to the English winter, and they fatten up during the months when the warm rain makes everything to grow in profusion. It must be noticed that although these Cheirogales greatly resemble the Lemurs already described, they have no special construction which necessitates this sleep.
These Cheirogales resemble the Hapalemurs in shape, and may be known by their small size, their long tail, which is either conical or cylindrical, and by their face, which is scarcely narrower in front than behind. Having long ankle-bones, the back muscles of the leg have a great leverage over the foot, which enables the creature to make its easy jumps. Being nocturnal in their habits, they have very large eyes, and rounded and short, but sharp-sensed, external ears. They are vegetable feeders, yet most of them are extremely fond of something alive to eat, and, indeed, are greedy enough when they have the opportunity of catching insects. Having wonderful powers of sight, and of rapid jumping, they watch for their prey, and approach it quietly, and finally descend from some height with the stealthy swoop of an Owl, catching the Beetle, Spider, or even small bird, and tearing it to pieces with astonishing celerity. They have a shrill cry at night, which is loud for such small creatures, but their usual voice is soft.
Holes in trees are used by the Cheirogales for hiding-places and nests for their young, which do not accompany the mother at first out of their safe retreats.
Naturalists have had a vast amount of trouble in distinguishing these little Lemuroids one from the other, and there has been a vast amount of confusion about their names, but the following are interesting for many reasons.
THE FORKED-CROWNED CHEIROGALE.[126]
The “Walouvy,” or “Tantaroué-léla”--for such are its Malagasy by-names--is found in abundance in the forests on the western side of the island, but it equally inhabits the eastern parts of Madagascar. Their choice of a domicile is ordinarily in the hollow of a tree, particularly in one with a double aperture; and in their selection they not unfrequently stumble on a cavity already occupied by Bees, but this does not deter them from having a share in the busy business concern. For the natives pretend that it has a preference for the society of the Bees, doubtless with an eye to the dainty luscious honey, which it steals as opportunity offers. They make incredible leaps, so that it is extremely difficult to capture them. At night their cries resound in the woods almost continuously, and their noise somewhat resembles the piercing tones of the Guinea-fowl, a kind of “Ka-ka-ka-ka” being uttered loudly and precipitately.
The name of this species comes from a dark brown streak which passes along the whole length of the back, and over the head, to fork into two bands--one over each eyebrow. Whatever may be its liking for honey, it has the means of biting hard fruit, for it has large middle front teeth, and also a strong first upper false molar. As a whole the teeth number the same as in the first division of the American Monkeys.
COQUEREL’S[127] AND THE DWARF[128] CHEIROGALE.
Another of these little Lemuroids, called Coquerel’s Cheirogale, is celebrated as a nest maker, for it gathers dead leaves, and twigs, and grass, and makes a comfortable nest of large size, for it is a foot and a half in diameter. It goes into it by day, and sleeps soundly whilst the sun is up, but comes out at dusk to leap, crawl, and swing amongst the trees, looking out for live food quite as much as for fruit.
M. Milius, who was Governor of the Island of Réunion in 1821, gave a pair of little Lemuroids, each being about nine inches in length, with a long tail, to the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris. They lived there for some time, and used to get out of their cages at night and wander about the rooms and places where the beasts were confined. At dusk, after having been very quiet all day, they got up and stood well on their hind legs, and began to jump to and fro like mad creatures, and they kept it up when the room was quite dark, for they could be heard rushing about amongst a crowd of cages tenanted by other animals; but if the least light were admitted they darted through a small hole which led to their own cage, and were there again in the twinkling of an eye. They had beautiful silky fawn-coloured fur, and rolled themselves up in balls during the daytime, for the light seemed to be especially painful to them. In their captivity they were fed on bread, biscuits, and fruit.
One of the Cheirogales has a black circle around the eyes, and is called the Spectacled Cheirogale, and it is interesting because it is the species whose summer sleep has been noticed, and because it has an extremely important tail. This tail thickens greatly at the root, and tapers towards the end, not being cylindrical throughout, and it is the root which gets grossly fat, and finally excessively thin.
The last kind to be noticed is sometimes called the Madagascar Rat, or the Dwarf Cheirogale, for it is only four inches long, with a tail of six inches, and it might be passed by as only interesting for its small size and Rat-like look, but it has a most resplendent eye. The tapetum, or coloured tinsel-looking glaring structure situated deeply in the eyes, is so large, and the eye admits so much light at dusk, that quite an unnatural brilliancy is produced. They are night hunters, and are quiet and good-tempered when kept in cages.
They make true nests, like those of the crow, which consist of small interlaced twigs, in the midst of which there is a depression, with a bed of hairs for the young.
All the Cheirogales come, of course, from Madagascar, and they appear to inhabit the northern part of the island, and the east and west coasts, but not the south. They complete--with the exception of the curious Aye-Aye, which will be described at the end of this notice of the Lemuroida--the Madagascar Lemurs, and it is a point of interest to know that they are the only Madagascar Lemuroids which are pretty closely allied, so far as construction and shape are concerned, with any of the African kinds, which will now demand attention. Indeed, they and the Galagos of Africa have much in common, and are readily distinguished from the Indris and other Lemuroids already noticed. For instance, both have the long heel, or ankle-bone, the same number of teeth, and both have four teats, or mammæ--two on the breast, and two on the groin. They have no ruffs and no ear-tufts, and their brain is more triangular in shape than that of any other of the Lemuroida.
XVI. THE LEMUROIDA (concluded)--THE GALAGOS.[129]
THE GALAGOS--DEMIDOFF’S GALAGO AND THE MOUSE GALAGO--THE SENEGAL GALAGO--THE SENNAAR GALAGO--THE MAHOLI GALAGO--THE GRAND, OR THICK-TAILED GALAGO--MONTEIRO’S GALAGO--THE AFRICAN SLOW LEMURS--VAN BOSMAN’S POTTO--GENUS ARCTOCEBUS, OR BEAR MONKEY TRIBE--THE ANGWÁNTIBO--THE ASIATIC SLOW LEMUROIDS--THE SLOW LORIS--THE SLENDER LORIS--GENUS TARSIUS--THE SPECTRE TARSIER, OR TARSIUS--THE MALMAG--GENUS CHEIROMYS--THE AYE-AYE--The Puzzle of the Naturalists--Opinions regarding it--Specimen Examined by Owen--Feeding--Teeth--Hands--Classification of the Lemuroida--Geographical Distribution.
These Galagos are most interesting, lively creatures, and they have wonderful ears, which are long, large, and elliptical, and can be furled up if the animals become frightened. Moreover, they have a long heel-bone, and the tail, often bushy, either equals or is longer than the trunk.
DEMIDOFF’S GALAGO AND THE MOUSE GALAGO.[130]
The distinction between these kinds is not very definite, but they are inhabitants of the West Coast of Africa, namely, Senegal, Calabar, and the Gaboon. The Rev. W. C. Thomson’s account in a letter to Mr. Murray of what he suspects to be really and truly G. Demidoffii and G. murinus is well worth quotation. “Young ones of both species were brought to us about this period of the year (July 26). Mr. Robb has a young specimen of the smaller species just now, and about this time last year I became possessed of one of the larger. It is a most interesting and amusing pet, not only quite tame, but manifesting strong attachment. I had it for about six weeks in my possession, when, unfortunately, both for myself and it, it took a false leap into a water-canal and was drowned. It was a very epitome of zoology, of the size and colour of a large Rat; it had the tail of a Squirrel, the facial outline of the Fox, the membranous ears of the Bat, the eyes and somewhat the manners of the Owl in its cool odd way of peering at objects, the long slender fingers of a lean old man, who habitually eats down his nails, and all the mirthfulness and agility of a diminutive Monkey. It hated its cage at night, but delighted to leap upon the bars of the chairs ranged purposely round the table for it. It could clear a horizontal distance of at least six feet at a leap; and whenever it fell, as during its short apprenticeship it often did, and from alarming heights too, it gave expression of its apparent chagrin by a rough sort of purring. It possessed a curious power of folding its membranous ears back upon themselves, and somewhat corrugating them at pleasure; and it appeared to me that the palms of its hands and feet were endowed in some degree with the power of suction, such as the Walrus is said to possess in perfection. I have seen it maintain itself in positions where the mere lateral pressure of its limbs appeared to be inadequate for the purpose. I once applied it to the side of a cylindrical glass shade, of which it could not embrace so much as a third of the circumference, and sure enough it maintained its position for some time, gradually sliding down until it gave way. The palm was very much depressed, always clean and glistening, surrounded by five papilliform growths, those near the roots of the fingers serving as points of opposition to them, the fingers never closing beyond the palm. Mr. Robb had one of your species (G. murinus) in his possession for a considerable while. It devoured Grasshoppers, and even the fierce Mantides (leaf insects), greedily, as well as Moths, little as it was; but I never saw my kind muster courage enough to attack a Grasshopper or Mantis, though nearly twice as large as Mr. Robb’s. No doubt mine would, by-and-by, have become less particular and more daring. The smaller species was very familiar, and used to run over people with perfect freedom. A favourite place of refuge was under his whisker, and between it and his shirt collar.” According to the same correspondent, the little ones breed in captivity, but never grow more than about three or four inches long in the body; the larger kind, he says, within a year grow to six or seven inches long, or equal to a big Rat. Their voices differ, the larger animal’s tone being lugubrious. He further says that the little creatures (G. murinus?) are gregarious or social in their wild state, travelling in small companies, and inhabiting a common nest, one of which he himself got a glimpse of. He saw several individuals rush out of it as he passed, and it answered in its situation and description to the account he had received of them, which was, that they were built on suitable forks of trees, with a foundation of clay and superstructure of dried leaves.
THE SENEGAL GALAGO.[131]
This is interesting from being the earliest known species of true Galago, and also as apparently having the widest range of geographical distribution. It is but a very little larger than the full-grown species mentioned above, and has fawn-grey fur above, and yellowish-white beneath, with dark-brown feet and tail, and a white stripe on the face. It is common in the Senegal forests, even to the borders of the great Sahara Desert. Its habits in no way differ from the other Galagos’, though it is asserted that when pressed by hunger it feeds on the gum-arabic, plentiful in the acacia trees of its native forests. Its eagerness in the capture of insect prey is well attested. It pursues Beetles, Sphinges, and Moths with great ardour, even while they are on the wing, making prodigious bounds at them, and often leaping right upwards to seize them. Should it by chance miss its object and accidentally fall from the branch to the ground, it re-ascends with the rapidity of flight to renew the hunt. In captivity it freely eats chopped meat, eggs, and milk. Although good-tempered in confinement, it nevertheless is vivacious and petulant. At night it is always on the move, and if the occasion arises, darts off to the woods without a moment’s delay. The Moors say its flesh is good eating.
The so-called Sennaar Galago[132] by some is held to be a different species, but by many is only deemed a variety of the preceding. This animal is plentiful on the wooded banks of the White Nile, and is spread over the forest tracts in Kordofan, and in the same latitudes to the Blue Nile in Sennaar, bordering Abyssinia. By the native name, “Camimdi,” it is also well known in the interior of the East African Coast, viz., above Tete near the Zambesi River. If, moreover, the Maholi Galago, as certain authorities believe, is but a variety of the same, then the Senegal Galago ranges over nearly three-quarters the length and breadth of Africa.
THE MAHOLI GALAGO.[133]
Originally discovered and described by the late Sir Andrew Smith in his “South African Zoology,” this is one of the most charming and interesting little creatures imaginable. The general colouring of the upper parts is a yellowish or brownish-grey, with slightly darker brindling on the back, a broad nose-streak, cheeks and throat white, and a tinge of yellow intermixed with the white of the belly and inside of the limbs. The great tender-looking eyes are of a deep topaz yellow; the ears, flesh-tint inside and downy-white outside, are very big, and betimes are rapidly folded together like those of Garnett’s Galago, giving the creature great variety of expression. The head is somewhat globular, with a short, high, almost pointed nose. The delicate woolly fur of the body lengthens and darkens on the tail, most so towards its end. Smith observes that they spring from branch to branch, and tree to tree, with extraordinary facility, and always seize with one of their fore-feet the branch upon which they intend to rest. In their manners they manifest considerable resemblance to Monkeys, particularly in their propensity to the practice of ridiculous grimaces and gesticulations. It spends the daytime in the nests which it forms for itself in the forks of branches, or in the cavities of decayed trees; and in these nests the females also produce and rear their young, of which there are generally two at a birth. Sir John Kirk found it common among the hills of Kebrabassa, Batoka, and Nyassa, in East Africa. He says, singly and in pairs they came about the camp-fires at night, and in the dim light resembled a Bat in movements, by crossing from side to side, at single leaps, distances of six feet. A pair which lived a few years ago in the Zoological Gardens were a most interestingly tender couple. The day saw them nestled lovingly in their little box, and as night wore on they would peep out and cautiously and by stealth venture into their more spacious cage. Creeping down the branch, which served as a ladder, so noiselessly that not a movement could be heard, they would suddenly spring hither and thither, not like ordinary quadrupeds, but in a manner only to be compared with the leap and dart of a Tree Frog (Hyla). Approaching a dish of Meal-worms laid out for them, they would snap them up with their forepaws so quickly that the eye could not follow the motion; this rapidity of action equalled the Chamæleon’s tongue, whose protrusion and withdrawal baffles the eye, the fly gone being the main fact the observer is cognisant of. They seemed heartily to enjoy the Meal-worms, these being dainties in comparison with their ordinary food, which was sopped bread, rice and milk, and fruit. They were much more timid creatures than the impudent, rollicking Garnett’s Galago,[134] whose habits were noticed in the beginning of our description of the Lemuroids. Neither were they by any means as noisy; indeed they seldom if ever uttered a sound, and that was only a subdued warning note. As regards their Monkey-like gestures, hinted at by Smith, this pair never showed any, their manner being rather Squirrel-like than otherwise. Occasionally a hasty contraction or curling together of each capacious ear simulated the scared grimace of a Monkey, but this action was one of surprise or timidity, and not that of the drollery and mischief of Monkey habit. On the whole, these Maholi Galagos appear to be animals of lower intelligence than the Monkey tribe.
THE GRAND, OR THICK-TAILED GALAGO.[135]
This handsome animal comes from both East and West Africa south of the Equator, and is about as large as a Cat, with a great bushy tail some three or four inches longer than the body. This appendage it carries aloft very majestically, or swerves it to and fro as a kind of rudder in climbing, occasionally sweeping it along the back and belly, or curling it around the body after the manner of the Lemurs. Being nocturnal in its habits, the eyes, which are large, and with great wide dark pupils and a brown-red iris, have a glassy, glimmering appearance in daylight, but look like balls of fire at night. The ears are a remarkable feature: about a third shorter than the head, they stand out like great, flattish, elliptical-mouthed trumpets, ever changing position and shape, and catching all sounds, and they are nearly bare within and slightly hairy outside. This animal has fur of a uniformly dark brown, and this colour mainly distinguishes it from
MONTEIRO’S GALAGO.[136]
This short description of the Thick-tailed Galago in a great many respects answers to another, which merits the title of “Grand,” if dimensions a grade larger deserve it. One was obtained at Cuis Bay, south of Loanda, and was conveyed to England in the living state, being supposed to be only a pale variety of the last-mentioned species. The only visible difference from the latter seems to be that of colour, even this slightly varying. It is of a light chinchilla-grey all over, save the tail and the throat, which are nearly white. The nose is black and bare, and the feet are deep brown. The entire length of the animal is twenty-eight inches, whereof the tail is sixteen. The ears are a couple of inches long, and blackish. Mr. Bartlett remarks that when these are thrown forwards they give the head a resemblance to that of the Aye-Aye; but when they are folded back and down the physiognomy approaches that of the Douroucouli. Sir John Kirk (who accompanied Dr. Livingstone) says: “While the G. maholi is peculiar to the interior, where its geographical range seems to be great, the other, or Great-tailed Galago (G. Monteiri), is confined to the maritime region--so far as I know, never penetrating beyond the band of wood known generally as the mangrove forests. By the Portuguese it is named ‘Rat of the Cocoa-nut Palm,’ that being its favourite haunt by day, nestling among the fronds; but if it be disturbed, performing feats of agility, and darting from one palm to another. It will spring with great rapidity, adhering to any object as if it were a lump of wet clay.
“It has one failing--otherwise its capture were no easy task. Should a pot of palm-wine be left on the tree, the creature drinks to excess, comes down, and rushes about intoxicated. In captivity they are wild; during the day remaining either rolled up in a ball, or perched half asleep, with ears stowed away like a Beetle’s wing under its hard and ornamented case (elytra). I had half a dozen Squirrels with one in the same cage; these were good friends, the latter creeping under the ‘Golgo’s’ soft fur and falling asleep. On introducing a few specimens of Shrew (Macroscelides tetradactylus), the ‘Golgo’ seized one and bit off its tail, which, however, it did not eat. The food it took was biscuit, rice, orange, banana, guava, and a little cooked meat. Stupid during the day, it became active at night, or just after darkness set in.
“The rapidity and length of its leaps, which were absolutely noiseless, must give great facilities to its capturing live prey. I never knew it give a loud call, but it would often make a low chattering noise. It has been observed at the Luabo mouth of the Zambesi, at Quilimane, and at Mozambique. When I had my live specimen at Zanzibar, the natives there did not seem to recognise it; nevertheless, it may be abundant on the mainland.”
Mr. Monteiro tells us that the Loanda specimens have not the character of being such a drunken lot of creatures, though they are arrant thieves, but otherwise he corroborates Kirk’s observations. He mentions that they come in bands, and rob the fruit-trees of the villages. Their flesh is looked upon as good eating, and their skins are eagerly sought for, the fur being used to staunch wounds. In allusion to the Galago’s inebriety, Dr. Gray relates that a friend of his gave a half-grown Scotch Terrier to a distiller, who soon returned it with the character of “habit and repute.” The animal could not by any correction be prevented from drinking the spirit as it came from the still, or any spirits it could get, and it would stagger and reel about, verifying the term, “a drunken dog,” so often applied to divine man.
THE AFRICAN SLOW LEMURS.
The rest of the African Lemuroids have not the habits, appearance, and anatomy of the Galagos, and are a very sad, weird, slow-going set, totally different from the active, careless kinds already noticed. A world of care seems to hang around their deliberate movements; they are images of Sleepy Hollow; they never are seen to spring and rush about, but ordinarily conduct themselves with great gravity and decorum. Slow they are, and hence their name the Slow Loris, and their body and limbs are not made for rapid locomotion. The limbs are nearly equal in length, their head is globular, and the eyes are uneven. The short ears and short fur are all of a piece, and so is the short tail (for this is most common), and the short second or index (counting the thumb as one) finger. The back or rib vertebræ are fourteen or more, and the loin-bones are never less than seven. There is a remarkable division of the blood-vessels of the arms, loins, and legs called the rete mirabile. The vessels split into minute tubes, like hairs in calibre, but of two sizes, and lie closely adherent to each other in long parallel lines (see page 245); this arrangement, also termed a plexus, or plexiform, being similar in kind to what is met with in the Sloth tribe of South America. The Slow Lemurs inhabit both Africa and Asia, but are not found in Madagascar, and their mode of life is strictly arboreal and nocturnal.
The first African genus is Perodicticus.
VAN BOSMAN’S POTTO.[137]
As far back as the year 1705, while on a voyage to the Guinea coast, the Dutch navigator, Van Bosman, came across a new and strange little quadruped which, on his return, he figured and briefly described under the name of Potto. The colonists knew it as the Bush-dog, and that it was slothful and retiring, seldom making its appearance except in the night-time, and then to feed on the cassada and other vegetables. It is remarkable for its singular hand, which has, as it were, a deformed forefinger, and for a seeming protrusion of the neck-bones.
Like other tropical night-animals, the home or wild habits of the Potto have only been loosely studied. It is not restricted to the northern parts of Guinea, but is found on the Gold Coast and at the Gaboon River under the Equator. It shows a certain agility at night, clambering up the most smooth and polished branches with ease. When caught, and in captivity, one authority says, it sped along the cornices and angles within the house wherever there was the least elevation from the wall.
Those specimens which have lived in the Regent’s Park Gardens from time to time have fed on the same kind of food and exhibited no special differences of habit from the Slow Loris of Asia, presently to be described, if we except a more intractable disposition; for they have seemed rather addicted to giving an ugly bite whenever attempted to be handled, however gently. Mr. Bartlett managed to get one that showed a more amiable disposition, courting kindly stroking. When first obtained, it was so young that doubts were entertained of its surviving, especially as it suffered from the cold weather. To obviate this a small bag of hare-skin was made, fur inside, and Master Potto was placed therein. Furthermore, a bitch having whelps on the premises, one of the latter was put in with the young African for a while, then another, and so on in rotation, the animal heat of Potto being duly sustained. The latter clung to the puppies as it would to its mother, hugging them on the belly so tight that the doggies did not quite seem to relish their forced companion. This nursing, however, did well, and Potto was duly reared, and became on the whole good tempered.
Mr. Skues records having purchased a female at Cape Coast on the 31st March, 1869, along with its young one, which had been born on the 8th February. They slept all day; the mother usually perched on a door, with the youngster clasped to her belly, by its fore and hind extremities. At dusk they came down and wandered about the room all night. After a time, young Potto scampered hither and thither on his own account. Milk and bread they refused, but would feed on pine-apples and bananas, with water. Although there were insects about the room, as is the case always in tropical climates, the Pottos were never detected eating them, but one day the mother was found busily munching at a tray of preserved Beetles. At Accra, circumstances prevented due attention being given them, and there the young one died aged twenty-two weeks. The mother survived only six weeks. The negroes seemed to be much afraid of the Potto, which they called “Aposo,” or “Aposou.” It inhabits West Africa and the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea.
The hairs on the Potto are longish, soft, and woolly, mouse-coloured at the base, rusty in the middle, and paler tipped. Hence results a general chestnut tint, with intermixture of grey, the under surface being considerably paler. The limbs are nearly of one length; the head rounded, with slightly-hairy shortish ears, and moderately-projecting muzzle. The nose and chin are almost naked and flesh-coloured, the former grooved or nicked in the centre. The eyes are lateral and oblique, very convex, and with an oblong pupil. The index, or first finger, is very short, resembling a tubercle.
The nature and number of the teeth indicate a mixed diet, as there are four incisors above and below, and two canines in the upper and lower jaw. Then come three pre-molars and three lower grinders on each side in both jaws.
GENUS ARCTOCEBUS, OR BEAR MONKEY TRIBE.[138]
The next genus is very singular. The species has just the trace of a tail, and the index finger is reduced to a slight projection, or tubercle, on which there is no trace of a nail, and the fingers and toes about the lower joints are united by skin. The ear has two cross folds, and there are fifteen dorsal back-bones, and seven in the loin region.
THE ANGWÁNTIBO.[139]
Our knowledge of this curious African species, which comes from West Africa and Old Calabar, truly a “three-fingered Jack,” is due to the Rev. A. Robb, when missionary at Old Calabar. From his letter (December, 1859) accompanying the bottled specimen first transmitted to England, we gather the following history:--“The Calabar people call it Angwántibo--angwán means a farm, but we do not know the etymology of the second part of the word, and cannot say whether it arose from any habit peculiar to the animal. It lives in trees; but, being nocturnal, the people know exceedingly little about it. They cannot tell what it eats. A lad whom I asked said that he lived in the house, and it lived in the bush, how then could he know anything about it? My Krumen also recognised it as a countryman of theirs. They consider the one sent as a young one, and say that in their country it grows to the size of a common puss. Probably theirs is a different animal, but I cannot tell. They call it Dwăn, and say that it lays down the law to the other beasts, forbidding them to eat the young fruit when it begins to form on the trees. If the Monkey transgresses, the Dwăn seizes him, and holds him there till he dies--yea, the Monkey rots in his grasp. They say they are shot together thus. If the Monkey gets the shot, the Dwăn holds on; if the Dwăn gets the shot, they fall together. The Krumen say that the Dwăn eats fruit. This is all we know about it at present; and their (the Krumen’s) account seems somewhat fabulous.”
Dr. Alexander Smith describes and compares the animal with the Potto. He mentions the following characters:--Above, yellowish-brown, the roots of the hairs, dark grey; below, paler, in some parts nearly white; hair, wool-like; length from muzzle to point of tail, 10½ inches, the tail being only a quarter of an inch long. The body is slender; the head oval and rounded, with a blunt but protuberant face; the eyes, full and large; ears, naked within, and with short hairs externally; nostrils, sinuous, and laterally placed; there is projecting fold beneath the tongue, as in other Lemuroids, and the neck is short. The limbs are slender, the hinder a trifle larger and stronger than the others; both feet and hands conform to those of the Potto, with, however, a still greater reduction of the index finger. He observes that the hands and feet are divided, as it were, into two opposing portions, which he likens to the grasp of such climbing-birds as the Parrots. This peculiarity, along with the multiple blood-vessel division of the extremities, he thinks indicative of long-enduring muscular action, stealthy step, and adaptation for gripping twigs of trees, rather than for the purpose of capturing a prey.
The anatomical peculiarities of the Angwántibo have been lucidly described by Prof. Huxley in the “Proceedings of the Zoological Society,” where, from his examination, he substantiates Dr. Gray’s separation of the animal generically from its African mother the Potto.
THE ASIATIC SLOW LEMUROIDS.--THE SLOW LORIS.[140]
There are two well-marked kinds of these Lemuroida to be met with in very large districts in the East, and they live in the tropical woods of Eastern and Southern Hindostan, Ceylon, Burmah, Siam, Cochin China, the Malay Archipelago, and in the great Islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. But they do not live together in the same parts.
The first to be noticed has the widest geographical range, and is to be found here and there from Hindostan to China, and from Burmah to the great islands. Hence quite a voluminous history is attached to this animal, whose singular appearance and habits, peculiar anatomy, and geographical distribution, have been the fruitful theme for travellers and naturalists of most European nations. He is called by many names, and is the Bashful Billy--“Chirmundi Billi”--of the Bengalese, or the Slow Lemur, and naturalists term him the Slow Loris, or Kukang (Nycticebus tardigradus). When he is turned out of his quarters in the daytime, he reminds one of a very young, awkward puppy without a tail. But his eyes, however, are enormous and owl-like, and seem to start protuberantly forwards with an unmeaning stare. When his wits return, and the scare ceases, he softly turns on his heel, and with a very slow, measured pace--hand-over-hand, as sailors term it--makes for his box. There is a cool, sedate manner about his whole proceedings which may either be taken for wisdom or stupidity. During the night, when hungry cravings send him forth on his own account, his eyes light up, and he seems more alive to his interests, though seldom increasing the activity of his movements. On a table he waddles like a sailor newly ashore, but with a rope or bough to grasp, by foot or hand, there ensues a grip like a vice, a steady mode of ascent putting him betimes out of reach of danger.
The eye of the Kukang, besides its adaptation to nocturnal vision, in the presence of a tapetum, or silvery lining to the choroid or blood-vessel layer, has also a singular manner of closing. Instead of the eyelids shutting from above downwards, as in the majority of Mammals, they approach obliquely outwards and inwards. This mode of closure is entirely due to an inequality in the fleshy fibres which surround the eyelid, and, together with the large pupil, somewhat elliptical in shape, produces in daylight a very strange, unmeaning look. It has a very odd knack of hanging to boughs, body downwards, and the way in which it is done, asleep or awake, apparently receives explanation from the mode in which certain of the flexor muscles are fastened above the knee-joint. Thus, by simple bending of the leg, the toes are drawn (on bending) together, and hold fast without any sensible muscular exertion. The mechanism, in fact, is similar in kind to that which enables birds to perch while slumbering, or by which Bats adhere to crevices while suspended head downwards. It possesses the peculiar rete mirabile of blood-vessels already noticed.
Many anecdotes respecting the habits of the Nycticebus in confinement have hitherto found currency, a similar vein of narrative running through each. One kept by Mr. Baird some nine months had a preference for veal, fresh-killed fowls’ necks, sugar, and gum-arabic, cooked meat being abhorred. Instead of recounting old stories, we append the following observations of Captain Tickell, not hitherto made public:--
“This animal is tolerably common in the Tenasserim provinces, and in Arracan, but from being strictly nocturnal in its habits is seldom seen. It inhabits the densest forests, and never by choice leaves the trees. Its movements are slow, but it climbs readily, and grasps with great tenacity. If placed on the ground, it can proceed, if frightened, in a wavering kind of trot, the limbs bent at right angles, like a mutilated Spider. It sleeps rolled up in a ball, its head and hands buried between its thighs, and wakes up at the dusk of evening to commence its nocturnal rambles. The female bears but one young at a time. In confinement they are at first savage, bite severely, and in spite of general slow movements, can do so pretty quickly, uttering a rough grunt or growl. They, however, get quiet, if not absolutely docile, in time, and are kept without difficulty, requiring no other diet than plantains, or any other kind of fruit. They become content to remain in the smallest box, where another animal would soon pine and perish for want of exercise. When for a time confined they readily abandon their nocturnal habits, eat during the day, and rest at night. They will thus remain contentedly on an old punkah hung in a lumber-room, for many days; but, unless thoroughly reclaimed, they will always seize an opportunity during night to escape, never travelling far, however, and generally turning up in some thicket or bamboo-clump, or other quiet corner in the grounds. They greedily devour all sorts of insects, and also birds’ eggs.”
On one occasion Captain Tickell watched an individual crawling along the floor to seize a Cockroach. When it had approached within ten or twelve inches, it drew its hind feet gradually forwards until almost under its chest; it then cautiously and slowly raised itself up into a standing position, balancing itself awkwardly with its uplifted arms, and then, to his astonishment, flung itself, not upon the insect, which was off “like an arrow from a Tartar’s bow,” but on the spot which it had, half a second before, tenanted (see woodcut). This is its manner, however, of catching such of its living food as will wait long enough. Grubs, Caterpillars, and the slower Beetles (Scarabæi) are seized in one or both hands, and slowly carried to its mouth, and there solemnly munched up; the Nycticebus looking all the time, with its delicate small muzzle and its protuberant eyes, like one of those apologetic pigmy Lapdogs ladies love to carry. It is almost wholly silent, but when roused to take food, now and then it utters a feeble tone, like the crackling of some substance in the fire. When angry, and about to bite, it gives forth a tolerably loud growl or grunt.
The above animal (with one or possibly two species) forms the genus Nycticebus, in which the body and limbs are short; there is no tail, and the head is globular, whilst there are no less than sixteen back-bones with ribs. The index finger is short, and there is a nail on it.
The next genus is called Loris, or Stenops.
THE SLENDER LORIS.[141]
Comes from Ceylon, Malabar, and the Coromandel Coast, and the Malays in Ceylon call it “Seyvoingoo,” the Cinghalese, “Onaha ppoolowa.” The meagre figure and long lank limbs of this creature give it a droll, half-starved look, its skin-tight robes and silent melancholy lending oddity, but not gracefulness, to its charms. If seen during the day, and made to walk on a flat surface, what between its blinking, peeping eyes and awkward gait, a feeling of pity devoid of admiration is apt to arise. But watched at night, when it is clambering among branches, its character changes to that of a more lithe and nimbler animal, whose great staring eyes and gliding progress most surely indicate a nature less apathetic than a more hasty conclusion would warrant. Its uncommonly long body, devoid of a tail, is rendered more striking on account of limb-length, and the colour is usually of an unequal sooty-grey, the back mingled with much rusty-tinted or tawny hairs. The under parts are whitish, and there is a light nose-streak. The space round the eyes, which are close together, is dusky, and on the head is a dark spot, pointing to the inner eyelid. As in other of the Lemuroid groups, there is no absolute constancy in depth of tint and markings, lighter and darker varieties being met with. The rounded ears are conspicuous, though not long and mobile as in the Galagos, and the face has a kind of Dog-like expression. The hair is very singular when the animal is alive: it resembles soft packed wool, somewhat curled and arranged in little tufts, as the hair on the scalp of the negro, but very delicate; it soon loses this appearance after death if much handled, as is always the case in removing the skin.
The Slender Loris is very common in the lower country of the south and east of Ceylon. Dr. Templeton, who had several of them, observes “that after a few months’ confinement they soon begin to pine and die. One was particularly noticed. If the room was perfectly quiet about dusk, it ventured about, crawling along the rails of the chairs with a very gentle movement. There was an interval of nearly a minute in the closing of its hands on the parts of the furniture which it grasped in succession, while moving its head from side to side with much grave deliberation. But when a Spider or other insect came within its reach, its clutch at it was quick as lightning, and with equal rapidity it was conveyed to the mouth. It seemed particularly anxious to avoid having its hinder extremities touched. When approached, it retiringly slunk along the stick placed slantingly in the corner for its use, or along the back of the chair, with the usual deliberate movement. Its great goggle eyes would be fixed immovably on your face or hands if held towards it, and with every expression of fear. Its mouth appears small, and so little distensible that one cannot imagine it capable of biting anything except it be of very small size. The natives, nevertheless, assert that it destroys Peacocks in the jungle, seizing them by the neck, which it clutches with such tenacity that the bird soon falls exhausted to the ground off its perch, or in its sudden flight, attempting to escape its persecutor. Having devoured the brain, the Loris leaves the rest of the body untouched.” Among the others in his possession, Templeton alludes to a female which gave birth to a young one. “This latter, when ushered into the world, was about two inches long, like a Mouse, perfectly without hairy covering, a large head, attenuated body, and excessively slender legs. The face and eyes were proportionally much smaller than in the older animal. It clung to the mother so tenaciously, that I believe it would almost have parted with its life than let go its hold.” This baby Loris, he remarks, was not at all entitled to the usual appellation, Dog-like.
Sir J. Emerson Tennent says that the Slender Loris, from its sluggish movements, nocturnal habits, and consequent inaction during the day, has acquired the name of the “Ceylon Sloth.” According to him there are two varieties in the island; one of the ordinary fulvous brown, and another larger, whose fur is entirely black. A specimen of the former was sent to him from Chilaw, on the western coast, and lived for some time at Colombo, feeding on rice, fruit, and vegetables. It was partial to Ants and other insects, and always eager for milk or the bone of a Fowl. The natural slow motion of its limbs enables the Loris to approach its prey so stealthily that it seizes birds before they can be alarmed by its presence. During the day one which he kept was usually asleep in the strange position shown in the woodcut (p. 247), its perch firmly grasped with its hands, its back curved into a ball of soft fur, and its head hidden deep between its legs. The singularly large and intense eyes of the Loris have attracted the attention of the Cinghalese, who capture the creature for the purpose of extracting them as charms and love-potions, and this they are said to effect by holding the little animal to the fire till its eyeballs burst. Its Tamil name is theivangu, or “thin-bodied;” and hence a deformed child or an emaciated person has acquired in the Tamil districts the same epithet. The light-coloured variety of the Loris in Ceylon has a spot on its forehead, somewhat resembling the namam, or mark worn by the worshippers of Vishnu; and from this peculiarity it is distinguished as the Nama-theivangu.
A curious animal, differing from the foregoing Slow Lemuroids, but Asiatic in its distribution, is the only species of the genus Tarsius.
GENUS TARSIUS.--THE SPECTRE TARSIER, OR TARSIUS. THE MALMAG.[142]
This is a small, active creature, which appears to excite great terror in the minds of the natives of the East Indian Archipelago, from its curious-shaped face, and sudden appearance at dusk. So impressed are the inhabitants of some portions of Java with its malevolent influence, that if they see one of them on a tree near their rice-grounds, they will leave them uncultivated.
About the size of a small, common Squirrel, this tiny cause of fright has a round head, like that of a Marmoset, a pointed muzzle, large ears, and staring eyes. Its grinning mouth gives a queer and comical look to the face. Its body is about six inches in length. The limbs are long, especially the hind pair, and the tail--about nine inches long--is slender, and furnished with a brush of long hair at the end. The colour of the body is fawn-brown as a rule, and the bare parts are of a flesh tint, and the forehead, face, and nose are reddish, and there is a black eye-streak. The name is derived from the fact of the “tarsus,” or ankle-bones, being remarkably developed, the heel-bones being very long. There is but one kind as yet known, and it can be distinguished from all the other Lemuroids by the peculiarity of its front teeth. There are four upper ones and only two lower, and the inner pair of the upper jaw are much larger than the outer. There are four canine teeth; and there are twelve molar teeth in each jaw, six being false molars. These teeth are very crowded, and there is scarcely any space between them. The ends of the fingers and toes are well supplied with pads, which assist the animal in its jumping and clinging, and the second and third toes have short, sharp, and pointed claws, which stand nearly erect. The nails of the hands are scale-like and triangular, and this is the case with those of the great and outer toes.
The cavity for the eye, or orbit, is unlike that of any other of the Lemuroida, for it is closed behind, and does not open there on to the temple; this is, therefore, very characteristic. But the globular-shaped head, although remarkable, is not quite so distinctive. The most striking anatomical feature, and indeed that which is observable in the outside shape, is the disproportionate length of the heel-bones and foot to the lower leg and thigh. It has a very small side-bone to the leg (fibula), and it does not reach to the ankle. Oddly enough, the third finger of the hand is the longest, and the second and fourth are nearly equal, presenting a difference with regard to the other Lemuroida. So that this small, active creature, with a Monkey-like appearance, has more resemblance to the Insectivora, and differs very considerably from the rest of the group with which it is classified. The Spectre Tarsier, which inhabits the Oriental Archipelago and the Philippine Islands, has not been brought alive to England, but the late well-known naturalist, Mr. Cuming, gave the following description of its habits and peculiarities:--
“The Malmag is a small animal living under the roots of trees, particularly the large bamboo of these islands. Its principal food is Lizards, which it prefers to all other. When extremely hungry I have known it to eat Shrimps and Cockroaches, and give a great preference to those which are alive. It is very cleanly in its habits; never touches any kind of food that has been partly consumed, and never drinks a second time from the same water. It seldom makes any kind of noise, and when it does emit sound, it is a sharp, shrill call, and only once. On approaching it in its cage it fixes its large full eyes upon the party for a length of time, never moving a muscle; on drawing nearer or putting anything near it, it draws up the muscles of the face similar to a Monkey, and shows its beautiful, sharp, regular-set teeth. It laps water like a Cat, but very slowly, and eats much for so small an animal. It springs nearly two feet at a time. It sleeps much by day, is easily tamed, and becomes quite familiar, licking the hands and face, and creeping about your person, and is fond of being caressed. It has an aversion to the light, always retiring to the darkest place. It sits upon its posteriors when it feeds, holding its food by its fore-paws; when not hungry it will ogle the food for a considerable time. A male and female are generally seen together; the natives of these islands make sure of taking the second having secured the first. They are extremely scarce in the island of Bohol, and found only in the woods of Jagna and the island of Mindanao. It produces one at a time. I had the good fortune to procure a female without knowing her to be with young. One morning I was agreeably surprised to find she had brought forth. The young one appeared to be rather weak, but a perfect resemblance to its parent; the eyes were open and covered with hair. It soon gathered strength, and was constantly sucking betwixt its parent’s legs, and so well covered by its mother that I seldom could see anything of it but its tail. On the second day it began to creep about the cage with apparent strength, and even climb up to the top by the rods of which the cage was composed. Upon persons wishing to see the young one when covered over by the mother, we had to disturb her, upon which the dam would take the young one in its mouth, in the same manner as a Cat, and carry it about for some time. Several times I saw her, when not disturbed, trying to get out of the cage, with the young one in her mouth as before. It continued to live and increase in size for three weeks, when, unfortunately, some one trod upon the tail of the old one which was protruded through the cage, a circumstance which caused her death in a few days. The young one died a few hours after, and I put it in spirits.”
GENUS CHEIROMYS.
Another Madagascar Lemuroid remains to be noticed, and it ought to have been described with those of that great island; but the creature is so unlike all the others, and is so manifestly inferior in its Lemuroid character, and peculiar in its construction and habits, that it is necessary to place it at the end of all. Its position in the scale of classification is at the end of the Lemuroida, for although it has many of their anatomical characters, it resembles the Rodents, or Gnawers, in others. It is called
THE AYE-AYE.[143]
This is one of the most remarkable animals in the world, both on account of its peculiar Squirrel shape and Lemur-like construction, as well as on account of its habits. The animal was first kept and described by the traveller Sonnerat, who obtained a male and female from the west coast of Madagascar. He kept them on board ship and fed them on boiled rice for two months, when they died, and he used to remark that they used a finger of each hand to eat with, after the fashion of the Chinese, who use chopsticks. Having shown them to some of the natives of the east coast of the island, they were surprised, and denied that these curious-looking creatures belonged to their part of the country; moreover, they ejaculated “Aye-aye” on seeing them, and thus gave the familiar name to the breed. It is now known that the so-called Aye-Aye chiefly inhabits the forests of bamboos, which are numerous in the interior of the island. They are rare animals, and live a solitary life, or are found in pairs, but they never associate in bands of several individuals. They are essentially nocturnal in their habits, for they sleep all the day long in the thick bunches of leaves of the bamboos in the most impenetrable part of the forests, and they are therefore rarely seen, and are only met with quite by accident. The Aye-Aye feeds on the pith of the bamboos, and on sugar-canes, but it also loves Beetles and their grubs as a change of food. During the dark nights it awakens the echoes of the forest with a kind of plaintive grunting, and jumps from bough to bough, and clambers up the trees with great agility and vivacity, examining the bark of old trees most carefully in order to find its favourite insect-food.
As daylight approaches, the Aye-Aye ceases its lively play and forest-roaming, and moves into the sombre shades of the densest foliage; there it avoids the light and the rays of the sun, and placing its head between the fore-feet, and encircling itself with its bushy tail, the now half-torpid creature sleeps on until the evening.
The Aye-Aye is about three feet in length, including the long tail, and there is a half Fox, half Lemur look about it, with a little of the Squirrel. The hind feet at first sight are like those of a Monkey, as are also the limbs; but the hands are not in keeping with the rest, for the fingers are of all kinds of lengths, and the middle one looks as if it were atrophied and wasted. A little care, however, proves that the ears, so widely open and spoon-shaped, and nearly naked, are larger than those of these animals, that the head is really broader than theirs, and that the furthest end of the muzzle surmounts a perfect lip which hides four great front teeth, two above and two below. The tail is a very prominent object, and is longer than the body; it is straight, very bushy, flexible, and is covered with long coarse hairs, being thicker at the end than at the root. All the rest of the body, except the ears, nose, and the palms of the feet and hands, which are naked, is covered with a fur that is dense and furry underneath, and long and hairy at the ends; and it is these long hairs which give the general tint to the animal. The prevailing tint is a deep fuscous approaching to black; there is a little dark-red underneath, and yellow-grey on the throat nearest the head. Everywhere the dark colour is relieved by long scattered white hairs, which are very conspicuous on the back. On the back and tail the hair attains the length of from three to four inches. It has widely-open staring eyes, and whilst it is lively enough in the dark, it looks dazed and stupid in daylight. As if to render the animal more curious than ever, the teats, or mammæ for suckling the young, are not on the breast, but in the lower part of the body, and close to the groins, there being one on each side.
The Aye-Aye, so strangely constructed, has been a great puzzle to naturalists, and there have been many keen debates about its natural history. It is a hundred years since Sonnerat stated that, although the Aye-Aye much resembles a Squirrel, “yet it differs therefrom by some essential characters, being also allied to the Lemur and the Monkey;” and in describing the fore-foot, he specifies the long slender joints of the skeleton-looking middle finger, which the animal, he says, “makes use of to draw out of holes in trees the worms which form its food.” Buffon saw the skin of one of these specimens obtained by Sonnerat, and concluded that it is more closely allied to the genus of Squirrels than to any other, and that it also has more relation to a kind of Jerboa. After describing the hind feet, Buffon remarks that the opposite character of the thumb with the flattened nail separates the Aye-Aye widely from the Squirrel, and that of all animals that have a flat great toe-thumb nail, the Tarsier, a kind of Jerboa, is that which most resembles it. He ranked the Aye-Aye with the Rodents, or Gnawers. Nevertheless, Cuvier considered it to be one of the Squirrels, and by no means ignoring the opposite hind thumb, he still believed it to be an unusual or anomalous kind, but he was greatly led by the belief that the animal gnawed wood invariably for the sake of its only food, the worms and grubs. About the same time a German (Schreber), by examining the limbs, decided that the Aye-Aye was a Lemur, and he called it Lemur psilodactylus, or the “bare-fingered” Lemur; and after a while Cuvier obtained the skull and part of the limb-bones from Sonnerat’s specimen, and examined the first especially. Then the great front teeth of the Aye-Aye, and the space behind them, influenced the great anatomist, who saw that it had the teeth of Gnawers (Rodents), and skull like that of the Quadrumana, so he placed it in the list of doubtful animals. After his time, most anatomists considered the animal to be clearly allied to the Squirrels, and placed it amongst the Rodentia. But in 1859 Owen, from whose works the above notices of the progress of opinion on this subject have been taken, received an important letter from Dr. Sandwith, C. B., and a specimen of the Aye-Aye. The following letter explains the habits, and Owen subsequently described the anatomy of the animal, and placed it in its present position in the classification.
Dr. Sandwith wrote:--“After very great difficulty and much delay I have at length obtained a fine healthy male, a real Aye-Aye, and he is enjoying himself in a large cage which I had constructed for him. And now I have some questions to ask you. Do you want him dead or alive? It will, of course, be much easier to send his dead body home, if that will do; and if so, how am I to preserve him? If you want him alive you must tell me so without delay, as I think it would be dangerous to send him home in the cold season. I observe he is sensitive of cold, and likes to cover himself up in a piece of flannel, although the thermometer is now often 90° in the shade. He is a very interesting little animal, and from close observation I have learned his habits very correctly. On receiving him from Madagascar, I was told that he ate bananas, so of course I fed him on them, but tried him with other fruit. I found he liked dates, which was a grand discovery, supposing he be sent alive to England. Still I thought that those strong Rodent teeth, as large as those of a young Beaver, must have been intended for some other purpose than that of trying to eat his way out of a cage--the only use he seemed to make of them besides masticating soft fruits. Moreover, he had other peculiarities, e.g., singularly large naked ears, directed forward as if for offensive rather than defensive purposes; then again the second finger of the hands is unlike anything but a monster supernumerary member, it being slender and long, half the thickness of the other fingers, and resembling a piece of bent wire. Excepting the head and this finger, he closely resembles a Lemur. Now, as he attacked every night the woodwork of his cage, which I was gradually lining with tin, I bethought myself of tying some sticks over the woodwork, so that he might gnaw these instead. I had previously put in some large branches for him to climb upon; but the others were straight sticks to come over the woodwork of his cage, which alone he attacked. It so happened that the thick sticks I now put into his cage were bored in all directions by a large and destructive grub called here the Montorek. Just at sunset the Aye-Aye crept from under his blanket, yawned, stretched, and betook himself to his tree, where his movements were lively and graceful, though by no means as quick as those of a Squirrel. Presently he came to one of the worm-eaten branches, which he began to examine most attentively; and bending forward his ears and applying his nose close to the bark, he rapidly tapped the surface with the curious second digit, as a Woodpecker taps a tree, though with much less noise, from time to time inserting the end of the slender finger into the worm-holes as a surgeon would a probe. At length he came to a part of the branch which evidently gave out an interesting sound, for he began to tear it with his strong teeth. He rapidly stripped off the bark, cut into the wood, and exposed the nest of a grub, which he daintily picked out of its bed with the slender tapping finger, and conveyed the luscious morsel to his mouth. I watched these proceedings with intense interest, and was much struck with the marvellous adaptation of the creature to its habits, shown by his acute hearing, which enables him aptly to distinguish the different tones emitted from the wood by this gentle tapping, his evidently acute sense of smell aiding him in his search; his secure footsteps on the slender branches to which he firmly clings by his Quadrumanous members; his strong Rodent teeth enabling him to tear through the wood; and, lastly, by the curious slender finger, unlike that of any other animal, and which he used alternately as a pleximeter, a probe, and a scoop. But I was yet to learn another peculiarity. I gave him water to drink in a saucer, on which he stretched out a hand, dipped a finger into it, and drew it obliquely through his open mouth; and this he repeated so rapidly that the water seemed to flow into his mouth. After a while he lapped like a Cat; but his first mode of drinking appeared to me to be his way of reaching water in the deep clefts of trees. I am told that the Aye-Aye is an object of veneration at Madagascar, and that if any native touches one he is sure to die within the year; hence the difficulty of obtaining a specimen. I overcame this difficulty by a reward of ten pounds.”
Further information on the same subject was obtained by M. Vinson, who states that his Aye-Aye slept the greater part of the day, and moved about and made attempts to escape at night time. Having once succeeded, it climbed to the nearest tree, and moved about, leaping from branch to branch with the agility of the Ring-tailed Lemur; but its ordinary life in captivity suggested the idea of its being an indolent and rather slow-moving animal. The tail is carried in a curve, with the hollow of the bend downwards, so that it is slightly arched, and its chief office seems to be to add to the warmth of the already warm fur when the animal is in repose. In assuming the attitude of rest, the Aye-Aye places its head between its hands, and bends the tail over it by curving it forwards and letting it fall. Then it rolls itself into a ball, and covers the whole surface with the bushy hairs of this useful appendage, which is longer than the whole body and head together.
With regard to the Aye-Aye mentioned by Dr. Sandwith, Owen advised that, if it could not be sent safely to England, it had better be killed by chloroform, and sent over in spirit. Before this advice arrived the animal managed to escape from its confinement, and made for the sugar-canes in a neighbouring plantation, and there the unlucky Aye-Aye was speedily captured. He was martyred for the sake of science, and its description by Owen will last as long as literature, and its skin and bones as long as the British Museum exists. Some other observers had interested themselves about the animal in the interval, and in 1855 M. Liénard is said by Owen to have observed the habits of a young male. This one liked mango nuts, and invariably made a hole in the rind with his strong front teeth, inserted therein his slender middle digit, and then lowering his mouth to the hole, put into it the pulp which the finger had scooped out of the fruit. When one hand was tired it used the other, and often changed them. On presenting him with a piece of sugar-cane, he held it by both hands, and tearing it open with his teeth, sucked out the juice. M. Vinson had one for two months, which was brought from Madagascar to the Ile de la Réunion, and he stated that it selected the grubs it liked best by the sense of smell, and that when café au lait or eau marée was offered, it drank by passing its long slender finger from the vessel to the mouth with incredible rapidity.
The Aye-Aye, according to the discovery of M. Soumagne, honorary consul of France in Madagascar, constructs true nests in trees, which resemble enormous ball-shaped “birds’-nests.” He found them in the belt of forest which is situated half-way up a great mountain close to the town of Tamatave. They are composed of the rolled-up leaves of the so-called “Traveller’s Tree,” and are lined with small twigs and dry leaves. The opening of the nest is narrow, and is placed on one side, and it is lodged in the fork of the branches of a large tree. In this the Aye-Aye resembles the lower Lemuroids, and not the genera Loris and Tarsius.
The specimen of the Aye-Aye examined by Owen is three feet in length, the included tail measuring one foot eight inches and a half, and the fourth fingers of the hand and the fourth toes are the longest. The forefinger is shorter than the fifth, or little finger, and the second toe, counting the toe-thumb as the first, is shorter than the little toe.
The Aye-Aye is admirably adapted for its peculiar life, although part of its construction is very unlike that of the other Lemuroids, whose habits are much the same. Having nocturnal habits, the eyes are especially formed for the purpose of admitting all the light possible. They are large, prominent, and none of the “white” or conjunctiva is seen, only the cornea and the light brown or hazel-coloured iris behind it (commonly called the “sight”) being visible. It is a very staring, open eye, and the pupil is capable of being widely opened in the dark, and in fact it dilates generally as the light wanes, so as to admit every possible ray. In daylight, on the contrary, it contracts to a pin’s point in size, so as to shut out the light which would dazzle the eye and probably produce injury to it. There is a tapetum (see page 214) which assists in nocturnal vision. Nature has protected the eye not only with lids, for there are traces of eyelashes on the upper one but not on the lower, under which, however, there are some bristles. There is a kind of eyebrow in the form of tufts of a dozen very slender bristle-like hairs, and to complete the arrangement for protecting the eye against direct injury, and for letting the animal know when things are near enough to injure its organ of sight, there is what is called a nictitating fold in each eye. This is a layer of the white of the eye, or conjunctiva, situated close to the inner side near the nose, and which extends when required over the “sight” as a cover and protection. In addition to the nocturnal sight, the Aye-Aye has evidently extremely delicate hearing, the ears being large, spoon-shaped, and open, and their sense is very acute. For, either by hearing or by their very fine sense of smell, it detects grubs in the wood, and soon has them out, thanks to its teeth and claws.
The feet are long, and are made for grasping and for supporting the Aye-Aye on boughs whilst it uses its hands and teeth. They are very strong, and have a very long ankle, and claws to all the toes, except to the great thumb-like toe, which is very powerful, and has a flat nail. But it is in the hands and teeth that the singularity of the animal is made manifest, which makes it so little like the Lemuroida as a group. The hand is unique, but the front of the skull and the front teeth resemble those of the gnawing animals, and hence the name Cheiromys, which means hand-rat. Something has been said already regarding the food of the animal, and as its nature has to do with the hands and teeth, it is advisable to quote the able Superintendent of the Zoological Gardens, Mr. Bartlett:--
“In feeding,” writes Mr. Bartlett, “the left hand only is used, but the examination of the mode of taking her food requires careful attention, owing to the very rapid movement of the hand. The fourth finger, which is the largest and longest, is thrust forward into the food; the slender third finger is raised upwards and backwards above the rest, while the first finger (or thumb) is lowered so as to be seen below and behind the chin. In this position the hand is drawn backwards and forwards rapidly, the inner side of the fourth finger passing between the lips, the head of the animal being held sideways, thus depositing the food in the mouth at each movement. The tongue, jaws, and lips are kept in full motion all the time. Sometimes the animal will advance towards the dish and lap like a Cat, but this is unusual. The skeleton-like third finger is used with great address in cleansing her face and picking the corners of the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and other parts of the body, and during these operations the other fingers are closed.” From all that has hitherto been observed, the Aye-Aye evidently eats both insects and vegetable food, so that in captivity it will reject meat food more or less. In its natural state it will prefer the grubs of some trees to those which frequent others, and it searches along the boughs for some evidence of their presence, and, with teeth and slim fingers, opens their galleries and brings them to light.
The teeth are certainly remarkable. There are two sets, the milk teeth and the adult teeth. In the first, or milk teeth, there are two front teeth, one canine tooth, and a molar or grinder on each side of the upper jaw. In the lower jaw there is but one front tooth, no canine, and one molar on each side. A further peculiarity consists in the falling out of the molars, one incisor, and the canine in the upper jaw, to be replaced by the following adult dentition, or second set. This consists of one incisor, no canine, one pre-molar, and three molars on both sides of the upper jaw; while below, the canine and pre-molar are entirely absent, the incisor and molar being like those of the upper jaw; it has thus eighteen teeth altogether. There are two front teeth in the upper and two in the lower jaw only, but they are very large, long, and narrow, being shaped like those of a Rabbit or Rat. Their tips wear away and expose a sharp cutting surface of thick enamel in front, and they are splendid cutting chisels. They gnaw and cut away wood, strip off bark, and make deep holes in the branches, and their length permits them to be placed in hollows in the wood so as to prise them open by acting as levers. It appears that they are made to grow from their sockets as they are worn down by frequent use. They are by themselves, and there is a great gap (diastema) or distance in the gums between them and the next teeth. This is quite after the fashion of the gnawing animals. The back teeth crush and champ fruit, vegetable substances, and insects with ease. There is a curious point about the chin, for there is no bony union there between the two sides of the lower jaw; on the contrary, the union is by a more or less elastic tissue, which permits of some movement up and down and from side to side during the action of the great front teeth.[144]
The hand is most peculiar, for certain of the fingers are so thin and long that they appear as if improperly nourished. They have the usual number of joints, and the last joints have strong curved claws. They have not the same relation of length and size as in any of the other Lemuroids, for the fourth finger is the longest instead of the third, and the third finger is so much more slim than the others, that Owen remarks that it seems as if it were paralysed. The hair is carried down the arms to the fingers, and adds to their spidery look. In the wrist there are the usual nine bones, the intermedium being there in addition to the eight recognisable in the higher Apes; and the two bones of the fore-arm greatly resemble those of the Monkeys in general.
The wrist and fore-arms are very movable, and the fingers also; but the thumbs, small as they are, and clawed, have but little of the thumb-like motion, and are but very slightly opposable to the forefinger, which, moreover, is rather shorter than the “little” or fifth finger.
On the whole the Aye-Aye presents some resemblance to the Lemuroids, and less to any other animal. Its large open ears, the eyes looking straight forward, the nostrils placed at the end of the snout, the want of any groove on the upper lip, the nature of the fur, so furry below and hairy above on the skin, are interesting to those who care to compare this animal with the Lemuroids and Rodents, or gnawing animals; so are the perfect condition of the orbits, or eye cavities, in front and their opening through behind, and the arrangement of the back-bones and limbs to those who would compare it with the Monkeys.
The skeleton resembles that of these last, and there are so many points of difference from the Rodents--although the skull at first sight looks like that of a Rat--that this very exceptional creature is classified with the Lemuroida from its partial resemblance to them and the Monkeys.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE LEMUROIDA.
Now that the Madagascar, African, and Asiatic Lemuroids have been noticed, and their prominent peculiarities described, it is easy to arrange them in the proper classification. Firstly, the position of the whole sub-order is next to the Hapale Monkeys of South America in the order of Primates. Then, if the figures or stuffed specimens of an Aye-Aye, a Tarsius, and a Slow Loris be compared, there is no difficulty in distinguishing them, for they differ much. But if a Lepilemur and a Galago are compared, it will be noticed that although they differ enough to be placed in two genera, still the distinction is not great. So it is advisable to group them together in a family; but the three others must belong each to a separate family. The scheme of Professor Mivart, who has paid much attention to these animals, and which we adopt, is as follows:--
FAMILIES OF THE SUB-ORDER LEMUROIDA AND THEIR GENERA.[145]
Genera.
{ Indris. { Lepilemur. Family I.--Lemuridæ. { Lemur. { Hapalemur. { Cheirogale. { Galago. { Perodicticus. { Loris, or Stenops. Family II.--Nycticebidæ { Nycticebus. { Arctocebus. „ III.--Tarsidæ Tarsius. „ IV.--Cheiromydæ Cheiromys.
As groups these have more or less well-defined differences. Thus, the Lemuridæ have no rete mirabile, and, except in one species, the tail is large, and all have their hind legs longer than their front ones.
The Nycticebidæ have short ears and faces, and the tail is short or absent. They have a strange defect in the fingers (of hand and foot), the ankle is short, and there is a rete mirabile.
As a family the Tarsidæ have long ears, a long ankle, a long and slender tail, and there is a rete mirabile. Moreover, the fourth finger is not the longest.
The Cheiromydæ are known at once by their great front teeth, and the probe-like middle finger of the hand.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
All the kinds of Indris, Lepilemur, Hapalemur, Lemur, and Cheirogale inhabit Madagascar and some of the small islands close to its coast, and one kind of Lemur is found in one if not in two of the Comoro Islands, which are between the north west of Madagascar and the African coast, and nearer the island than to the continent. They have not been discovered elsewhere, and this is extremely interesting, because, with the exception of the genus Galago, they form the entire family of the Lemuridæ. The Galagos are not found in Madagascar, but in the woods and forests of the opposite coast of Africa. Some Galagos are found as far south as Port Natal, and the thick-tailed species inhabits both the eastern and the western coasts of the continent, and the central parts also. Others have been found near the Gaboon and in Fernando Po, Senegal, and Gambia, and in the country of Sennaar and near the White Nile. The Aye-Aye is essentially a Madagascar form. The Nycticebidan family has a wide geographical range. Thus, the species of the genus Loris are found in Ceylon, in Southern India at Pondicherry, and in Hindostan; the genus Nycticebus has one species in Borneo and Sumatra, a second in Java, and a third in China. On the contrary, the remaining genera, Perodicticus and Arctocebus, are limited to the west coast of Africa, none of them being found in the intermediate regions of that continent or in Madagascar. Finally, the Tarsidæ, according to Wallace, inhabit Borneo, Celebes, and some other neighbouring islands, the species being the same in all localities. How is the widespread distribution of the animals of the sub-order to be explained? On the presumption that they all sprang from one parent stock, it is necessary to suggest the occurrence of vast geographical changes in bygone ages, such, for instance, as the former connection of Madagascar and the mainland of Africa, and their separation; the former existence and subsequent subsidence of a vast tract of land between Hindostan and Africa, north of and remote from Madagascar; and the former continuity of land where there are now the islands of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java. It is necessary also to assume that Ceylon was united to Hindostan; and the great islands just mentioned to the continent of Asia. The land which was intermediate between Hindostan and Africa has been called Lemuria by Dr. Sclater, and its theoretical existence explains the otherwise incomprehensible presence of Giraffes and Hippopotami, now purely African genera, in the olden time in Asia. Geology rather favours these views. The first Lemuroida swarmed amongst the forests of these vast countries, and their descendants cut off from each other by geographical changes are now limited to very remote localities.
The fossil remains of Lemuroida, or of animals whose skulls resemble somewhat those of the sub-order, have been found in the Eocene of the Western territories, of the United States, and also in the south of France.
The particular muscles of the hand, arm, and shoulder which characterise the Monkeys, and which have been described in the former chapters, are found in the Lemuroids; and Murie and Mivart have already shown that in the Lemuroids the muscles agree mainly with those of Monkeys, and others bear certain resemblances to those of animals lower in the scale. Moreover, the Lemurs possess a unique band of fleshy fibres, which stretch between the shin-bone and the adjoining small bone of the leg, which would seem to serve in aiding the turning of the limb (the rotator fibulæ).
JAMES MURIE. P. MARTIN DUNCAN.
CHIROPTERA, OR WING-HANDED ANIMALS.
THE BATS.
Chapter I
INTRODUCTION.--CLASSIFICATION OF BATS.--THE FRUIT-EATING BATS.
One of Æsop’s Fables--Opinions of the Ancients regarding Bats--Scaliger’s Statement of the Puzzle--Opinions of the Middle Ages--The True Position of the Bats--The Wing of the Bat--General Structure: The Breast-bone, Arms, Fingers, “Wing-membrane,” Wings, Skull, Ribs, Pelvis, Legs--In Repose--Walking--The Teats--Organs of the Senses--“Blind as a Bat”--The Eyes--Spallanzani’s Experiments--The Bat’s Power of Directing its Flight in the Darkest Places--Their Food--In Winter-Quarters--A Battue of Bats--FRUGIVOROUS AND INSECTIVOROUS BATS.
One of those ancient fables ascribed to Æsop, which were the delight of our younger days, contains a description of a battle between the birds and the beasts. The grounds of the quarrel we do not remember, and indeed the moral of the fable was tacked on to the conduct of the Bat. Availing himself of his combination of fur and wings, that astute animal hovered over the field of battle, and took his place on one side or the other, according to the direction in which the tide of success appeared to be turning, with the purpose, of course, of claiming in any case to be on the side of the victors. But this finesse was unsuccessful; the traitor was scouted by both parties, and has ever since been compelled to make his appearance in public only at night. Passing over the ingenious explanation thus afforded of the nocturnal habits of the Bats, this fable reflects pretty clearly the state of uncertainty in which the ancients were as to their precise nature. The union of a Mouse-like body with long wings was a great puzzle to people who had no sound principles of natural history classification to go upon; and even among the naturalists of antiquity there was much doubt as to the true position to be assigned to animals so singularly endowed. Aristotle seems to have thought they were birds with wings of skin; and Pliny describes them as the only birds which bring forth their young alive and suckle them. Among the Jews it is perfectly clear that the Bat was reckoned a bird; it is distinctly included among the unclean fowls in Leviticus (xi. 19), and Deuteronomy (xiv. 18). The obfuscation displayed by ancient writers with respect to the Bat is well shown in the following passage, in which Scaliger summarises their opinions:--“It is indeed,” he says, “an animal of marvellous structure; biped, quadruped; walking, but not with feet; flying, but not with feathers; seeing without light, in the light, blind; it uses light beyond the light, but wants light in the light; a bird with teeth, without a beak, with teats, with milk, bearing its young even when flying.” Can it be wondered at that such a creature should be a puzzle?
Nevertheless, some ancient writers seem to have entertained clearer notions on the subject, such as Macrobius, who maintained that as the Bat walked like a quadruped it ought to be classed with quadrupeds, for which he is blamed by Jonston, who speaks with approval of Plato’s opinion, according to which this unfortunate animal is neither bird nor beast, an opinion which partially prevailed to a rather late date. Throughout the Middle Ages, however, the general opinion even of professed naturalists was that Bats were birds; and we find this notion prevailing down to the time of Aldrovandus, in the latter part of the sixteenth century, and of Jonston, whose gigantic compilation was published in 1657. It is a question whether this notion that Bats are birds has even yet been entirely dispelled in the popular mind, and no doubt many people still regard them as birds, because they can fly, just as Whales and Seals are considered fishes, because they swim, and Centipedes and Scorpions reptiles, because they crawl. John Ray, the father of modern zoology, writing in 1683, was the first to refer the Bats to their true position among the Mammalia (animals which suckle their young), and in this course he was followed by Linnæus, who actually placed these puzzles of former naturalists in his highest order of Mammals, the Primates, along with man and the Apes. The position assigned to them by Linnæus in the series of animals they have virtually retained in nearly all systems to the present day.
By all modern zoologists the Chiroptera have been regarded as a distinct order of the Mammalia, characterised especially by their possession of the power of flight, and the consequent modification of the structure of their fore limbs, which is indicated in the name given to the group (Chiroptera--hand-wings). They are, in fact, the only true flying Mammals, and, indeed, the only truly flying Vertebrates except birds, for the so-called flying Squirrels, flying Lemurs, and flying Opossums are only furnished with a broad fold of skin on each side of the body, which, when expanded by the spreading of the limbs, acts as a sort of parachute to sustain them for a time in the air. This is also the case with the flying Dragons, although in them the membrane is stiffened by means of a portion of the ribs; and even in the flying fishes, in which the organs of aerial locomotion are formed by the fore-limbs, these merely sustain the fish in the air for a time by the increased surface they give it, but do not serve as real wings, like those of Bats and birds.
There is, however, an important difference in the structure of the wing in the Bats and birds although the general principle on which the organs of flight are constructed is the same. In both (as indeed also in flying insects), this principle consists in having a strong framework, to which an up and down movement can be communicated, along the front of the wing, enabling it to strike the air with more or less force during its downward passage, whilst the effective surface of the organ is of a flexible or elastic nature, being formed in the bird by the long feathers which are implanted in the skin clothing the bones of the wing, and in the Bat by a thin leathery membrane which is stretched between the bones of the fore and hind limbs. Upon these leathern wings the Bats flit about noiselessly in the twilight or in the darkness of the night. They are able to advance with considerable speed, and also to turn and wheel about in their course with great facility.
Of course, as in birds, the principal modification of structure exhibited in these animals is connected with their power of flight, and manifested in the fore-limbs. These, although most disproportionately developed, still, however, display the same bones which have been described in the arms of the Monkeys and Lemurs, as will be seen in our figure of the skeleton of the European Mouse-coloured Bat. We find in them a strong humerus (a) of moderate length, articulating with large shoulder-blades (b), which cover a considerable portion of the back of the chest, and are kept apart by well-developed collar-bones (c), springing in front from a breast-bone (sternum, s), which, although distinctly showing Mammalian characters, projects in such a manner as to serve the purpose of the deep keel in the breast-bone of birds, and give attachment to the powerful muscles required to set the wings in motion (see accompanying figure). The humerus is followed by the bones of the fore-arm (d), the radius and ulna, of which, however, the latter is generally very small, and reduced to a mere rudiment immovably fixed to the radius towards the end nearest the body. This section is the longest part of the arm, and the simplicity of its structure is in connection with the fact that, as in birds, there is here no occasion for any movement of rotation in the arm, such as enables the fore-limbs of many Mammals to be applied to a variety of uses. At the extremity of the radius are the carpal or wrist-bones (e), which are small but numerous, and furnish surfaces for the articulation of the bones of the fingers. Of these, the first, or thumb (f), is short, and composed of three joints, a metacarpal and two phalanges, the last of which bears a strong curved claw, of great use to the animal in clinging to various surfaces, and in walking on the ground. Of the other four fingers, the metacarpal bones (g) are very long and slender, forming, indeed, the greater part of the fingers; they taper towards their tips, but at the tips themselves are slightly enlarged. The first, or index finger, in most Bats is composed of the metacarpal bone alone, but in some this is followed by two short phalanges. The other fingers possess either two or three phalanges. In general only the thumb possesses a claw, but in some Bats there is one also on the index finger.
To convert this framework into an organ of flight its various parts are, as already stated, united by a membrane of more or less leathery appearance, although often so thin and delicate as to be somewhat translucent. It is an expansion or wide fold of the skin of the body like those forming the parachutes of the flying Squirrels, &c., and often called by the same name--patagium. We shall employ the simpler, if rather longer term, “wing-membrane.” The bones of the arm, with their accompanying muscles, and those of the fingers, are enclosed between the two layers of skin of which the membrane is composed, and which they serve to extend and support. In front of the arm there is a small portion of membrane filling up the angle of the elbow, and called the antebrachial membrane. The thumb is left free. Behind the arm is the great expanse of the wing, which springs from the sides of the body, and is also attached to the hind legs, generally extending down to the ankle.
The wings are expanded by the spreading of the fingers, which radiate from the wrist something like the sticks of a fan. The second, or middle finger, which is the longest, runs to the extreme tip of the wing, but before reaching this it generally joins the extremity of the first, or index finger, which thus acts as a sort of stay to it, and the two fingers together form a tolerably stiff support for the outer margin of the wing. The other two fingers (the third and fourth) traverse the wing to its hinder border, where they carry out the membrane into small pointed projections; so that when the wing is expanded, this border shows two points besides that at the apex of the wing, and three more or less rounded notches, the last of which is between the tip of the fourth finger and the attachment of the membrane to the hinder limb.
In most Bats the membrane does not stop short at the legs, but encloses them after the same fashion as the arms, leaving only the foot and sometimes a part of the shank free. The portion of membrane that passes within the legs, sometimes filling up the whole space between them and enclosing the whole or a part of the tail, sometimes forming only a narrow border to these limbs, is called the interfemoral or intercrural membrane, and the characters furnished by it and its relations to other parts are of great importance in the classification of Bats.
The rest of the structure of these animals may be dismissed in a few words. The skull, and all the other parts of the skeleton, are generally light and delicate in their construction, as might be expected in animals destined to support themselves in the air; but there is no trace of those pneumatic cavities which, in birds, enable the air to penetrate all parts of the skeleton. The jaws are well armed with teeth, which differ in their character in accordance with the food consumed by the animals. The ribs are well developed, and enclose a large chest cavity. The pelvis (p) is long, slender, and somewhat bird-like in some respects; the legs are short, generally slender, and articulated in such a manner that when used in walking the knees are directed backwards, like our elbows; the fibula (the second bone in the shank) is usually imperfectly developed, in the same way as the ulna in the fore-arm; and the foot consists of five distinct toes, armed with small but sharp claws, by which the animals suspend themselves from the surface of rocks, walls, and other objects, in the dark retreats to which they retire for their repose. From the heel-bone (calcaneum) in most Bats there springs a cartilaginous or bony rod or spur, which is regarded by some zoologists as forming part of the bone itself. This spur, which is often of considerable length, runs along the margin of the interfemoral membrane, which it no doubt helps materially to stretch. When long, and more or less curved, it often causes a projection of the side of the interfemoral membrane, as shown in the figure of the Marsh Bat (p. 259). The tail is very variable in length.
In repose, or rather when not flying, the wings of the Bat are folded up by a reversal of the process by which they were extended for flight; the long fingers are drawn together, and up towards the fore-arm, and the membrane forms leathery folds at the sides of the body. This is also their position when the animal is walking or running on the ground (see the engraving on the next page), which it does in a somewhat awkward fashion, by the action of its hind feet and the claws of its thumbs. When seen thus engaged there can be little doubt as to the quadruped nature of the Bat. Our little European species have a Mouse-like appearance, which fully justifies their old popular name.
The teats are usually situated on the breast; but sometimes they are placed quite on the sides, immediately beneath what we must call the armpits. They are two in number. In addition to these chest or pectoral teats, some species have been described as possessing a second pair of such organs situated on the groin, but recent investigations prove clearly that these are merely nipple-like warts.
The organs of the senses are well developed. The ears are almost always of considerable size, sometimes very large and membranous, and in most cases there is in front of the cavity a sort of lobe of variable form, called the earlet, or tragus, representing the little rounded lobe which, in the human ear, projects from behind the cheek over the opening (see the woodcut of the Head of the Long-eared Bat). The nostrils are either simple slits or apertures at the end of the muzzle, or surrounded by leaf-like organs, often of the most extraordinary forms (see the Head of the Spectacled Vampire, p. 264, and other illustrations later on), in fact, this tendency of the skin in Bats to run out into membranous expansions is one of their most remarkable characteristics, and, from their mode of life, this great development of the skin system would seem to be almost essential to their existence.
The old proverbial expression, “As blind as a Bat,” is certainly not founded on a due appreciation of facts, for Bats are by no means blind; on the contrary, they are furnished with very efficient eyes, although, in most cases, these are little bead-like organs, very unlike the eyes usually seen in animals whose activity is nocturnal or crepuscular. But it would appear that the office of the eyes in guiding these animals is, at all events, supplemented by some other means. Towards the end of the last century, the Abbé Spallanzani made some exceedingly interesting, although certainly cruel experiments on various species of Bats. He blinded these animals, sometimes by burning the eyes with a red-hot wire, sometimes by removing the organs altogether, and even filling up the orbits with wax, and then allowed them to fly. In spite of the mutilation, the unfortunate little creatures continued quite lively, and flew about as well as those which still retained their eyes; they did not strike against the walls of the room, or the objects in it, avoided a stick held up before them, and showed a greater desire to keep out of the way of a Cat or the hand of a man than to escape contact with inanimate objects. One of these blinded Bats was set free in a long underground passage, which turned at right angles about its middle. It flew through the two branches of this passage, and turned, without approaching the side walls. During its flight it detected a small cavity in the roof at a distance of eighteen inches, and immediately changed its course in order to conceal itself in this retreat. In a garden a sort of cage was prepared, with nets, and from its top sixteen strings were allowed to hang down. Two Bats were introduced into this enclosure, one blinded, the other with its eyes perfect. Both flew about freely, never touching the strings with more than the tips of the wings. Finally, the blind Bat discovered that the meshes of the enclosing net were large enough for it to get through, and made its escape; and, after flying about for a time, made its way rapidly and directly to the only roof in the neighbourhood, in which it disappeared. In a room containing numerous branches of trees, or in which silk threads, stretched by small weights, were suspended from the ceiling, the Bats, though blinded, avoided all these obstacles; and when, after tiring themselves with their aerial evolutions, they settled on some object for the sake of rest, they would immediately rise again on an attempt being made to seize them with the hand.
From these experiments it was perfectly clear that in threading the galleries of caverns and other narrow and pitch-dark places to which Bats commonly resort for their diurnal repose, these animals were guided by some other sense than that of sight, and the worthy abbé set himself to ascertain what this sense might be. He commenced operations by covering the body of one of his blind Bats with varnish, and found that this had no effect in rendering its movements uncertain. He then stopped up the ears with wax, and finally with melted sealing-wax, and still the Bats obstinately persisted in avoiding obstacles placed in their way. Consequently they did not hear their way in the dark. There remained the senses of smell and taste. To test the former the nostrils were stuffed up, but the only effect of this operation was to bring the creature speedily to the ground, owing to difficulty of breathing. Little fragments of sponge impregnated with musk, camphor, or storax were fastened in front of the nostrils, and then the Bats flew about as freely as ever, and showed the same power of avoiding contact with objects in their path. The removal of the tongue, as might be expected, produced no result.
Many of Spallanzani’s experiments were repeated by M. de Jurine, of Geneva, and with similar results, although Jurine found that when the ears were effectually stopped the Bats struck their wings against any object that came in their way.
Spallanzani found further that when the head of a Bat was enclosed in a small paper bag, or even wrapped in some fine light stuff, the animal could not be induced to fly. Coupling this observation with the results of his other experiments, he came to the conclusion that the mysterious faculty possessed by Bats of finding their way in the darkest places was due to some special sense with which they were endowed, and which was seated in some unknown organ situated in the head. Cuvier, however, who was the first really to appreciate the results of these experiments, arrived at the conclusion, now generally accepted, that the wonderful power possessed by Bats of directing their flight in places so dark as to render the sharpest eyes useless, was due to an exceptional development of the sense of touch, residing especially in the great delicate membranous expanse of the wings. These organs are really of the most delicate structure, and traversed by nerves, the fine ramifications of which terminate in little loops, like those found in those parts of the skin in man in which the sense of touch is manifested with the greatest perfection; and their surface is covered with rows of small thickened points, or papillæ, which may very probably have something to do with the perception of exceedingly delicate tactile impressions. Further, the wings of Bats are very copiously supplied with blood-vessels, and according to Dr. Wharton Jones even the veins are furnished with contractile walls, so that the circulation of the blood in them must be exceedingly active. In fact, according to Professor St. George Mivart, we have here a condition of things which may be in some degree analogous to a state of inflammation, which would doubtless considerably heighten the sensibility of the parts. But besides the wing-membranes many Bats, as we have seen, possess greatly enlarged ears, and also curious leaf-like and membranous appendages attached to the region of the nose, all of which no doubt partake of the sensibility of the wing-membranes, and assist in no small degree in guiding their possessors. In fact, from some observations recorded in Bell’s “British Quadrupeds” with regard to two British species (the Pipistrelle and the Horseshoe Bat), it would appear that the species with nasal appendages show greater acuteness of perception than those with simple noses, and many of them are known to frequent the darkest places of retreat, and to fly later than some of their less highly endowed fellows.
The food of the great majority of Bats consists of insects, which they capture on the wing. The members of one large family, however, and some species of another, feed upon fruits; whilst a few find at least a part of their nourishment in the blood of other animals. They generally fly in the twilight of the evening and morning, retiring to obscure places during the day, although some species will occasionally come out of their concealment by daylight.
In temperate and cold climates they pass the winter in a torpid state suspended by their hinder claws in their ordinary places of daily retreat, where they are often to be found in immense numbers. An American gentleman, describing a cave in the Western Territories, where the excrements of Bats had formed so large a deposit of “guano” that it was proposed to utilise it as manure, was asked by a friend of ours about the number of Bats in the cavern. He said, “Well, I guess when we went in there was about as much Bats as air in it.” There is doubtless a slight tinge of occidental hyperbole about this statement, but the following sober details, although also from the Western continent, may serve to show what multitudes of these creatures may collect together when left undisturbed in a suitable haunt. The story is told in the introduction to Dr. Allen’s “Monograph of the Bats of North America,” and is a description by M. Figaniere, Portuguese Minister to the United States, of the incidents attending his occupation of a new house in May, 1860:--
“The weather,” he says, “which was beautiful, balmy, and warm, invited us towards evening to out-door enjoyment and rest, after a fatiguing day of travel and active labour; but chairs, settees, and benches were scarcely occupied by us on the piazza and lawn, when to our amazement, and the horror of the female portion of our party, small black Bats made their appearance in immense numbers, flickering around the premises, rushing in and out of doors and through open windows, almost obscuring the early twilight, and causing a general stampede of the ladies, who fled, covering their heads with their hands, fearing that the dreaded little vampires might make a lodgment in their hair.
“This remarkable exhibition much increased our disappointment in regard to the habitable condition of our acquisition, and was entirely unexpected, inasmuch as the unwelcome neighbours were in their dormant state, and ensconced out of sight when the property was examined previous to purchase.
“Evening after evening did we patiently, though not complacently, watch this periodical exodus of dusky wings into light from their lurking-places one after another, and in some instances in couples, and even triples, according as the size of the holes or apertures from which they emerged in the slate roofing would permit. Their excursions invariably commenced with the cry of the Whippoorwill, both at coming evening and early dawn, and it was observed that they always first directed their flight towards the river, undoubtedly to damp their Mouse-like snouts, but not their spirits, for it was likewise observed that they returned to play hide and seek, and indulge in all other imaginable gambols: when, after gratifying their love of sport, and satisfying their voracious appetites (as the absence of Mosquitoes and Gnats testified), they would re-enter their habitation, and again emerge at the first signal of their feathered trumpeter. Thus I ascertained one very important fact, namely, that the Bat, or the species which annoyed us, ate and drank twice in twenty-four hours. Such appeared their habit, such, therefore, was their indispensable need.” After trying various remedies, none of which seemed to abate the nuisance, M. Figaniere adopted the following plan:--
“When the Bats’ réveillé was sounded by the bugle of the Whippoorwill, all the hands of our establishment, men and boys, each armed with a wooden implement (shaped like a cricket-bat), marched to the third floor, ‘on murderous deeds with thoughts intent.’ A lighted lantern was placed in the middle of one of the rooms, divested of all furniture, to allure the hidden foe from their strongholds. After closing the window to prevent all escape into the open air, the assailants distributed at regular distances to avoid clubbing each other, awaited the appearance of the Bats enticed into the room by the artificial light and impelled by their own natural craving. The slaughter commenced, and progressed with sanguinary vigour for several hours, or until brought to a close by the weariness of dealing blows that made the enemy bite the dust, and overpowered by the heat and closeness of the apartment. This plan succeeded perfectly. After a few evenings of similar exercise, in which the batteurs became quite expert in the use of their weapons, every wielding of the wooden bat bringing down an expiring namesake, the war terminated by the extermination of every individual of the enemy in the main building. However, there still was the cockloft of the laundry, which gave evidence of a large population. In this case I had recourse to a plan which had been recommended, but was not carried out in regard to the dwelling-house. I employed a slater to remove a portion of the slating, which required repairing. This process discovered some fifteen hundred or two thousand Bats, of which the larger number were killed, and the remainder sought the barn, trees, and other places of concealment in the neighbourhood.
“To remove the very disagreeable odour which remained in the upper part of the house, various kinds of disinfectants were employed with some advantage; but the most effectual method resorted to was that of opening holes of about four inches square, two at each gable end, to permit a current of air to pass through. These holes were covered with wire gauze to prevent the re-entrance of any of the remainder of the army of the enemy which might hover around the premises. At the end of five years the odour has now nearly disappeared, being hardly perceptible during a continuance of very damp weather.”
The great number of species of Bats which have been described from various parts of the world, but especially from tropical and sub-tropical regions, display two very strongly-marked types of structure, associated in general with very different habits and modes of life. Some are exclusively confined to a fruit diet, or consume animal food only as an exceptional dainty; whilst the others almost as exclusively find their nourishment in the swarms of insects which everywhere people the air. Of the latter, however, some few feed upon fruits, and others are said to diversify their insect fare by occasionally sucking the blood of other animals, and even of man himself. In the Frugivorous, or Fruit-eating Bats, the crowns of the molar teeth are smooth, with a central furrow running in the direction of the length of the jaw; in the Insectivorous forms, on the contrary, the molars show sharp tubercles separated by transverse furrows, generally producing a sort of W-like pattern on each tooth. These two types of tooth-structure are associated in each case with other characters. The Bats are thus divided into two great groups, generally regarded as sub-orders.
II. SUB-ORDER I.--MEGACHIROPTERA, OR LARGE BATS
FAMILY I.--PTEROPIDÆ, OR FRUIT-EATING BATS.
Characteristics of Fruit-Eating Bats--Distribution--Diet--Flying Fox of Ceylon: its Habits, as described by Sir E. Tennent--The Flight of the Pteropidæ--Known to the Ancients--The Fruit Bats in the Zoological Gardens--INDIAN FLYING FOX--Diet--Dissipated Habits--GREAT KALONG--Linnæus’s Description--In their Dormitories--NICOBAR, MANED, JAPANESE, and GREY FRUIT BATS--GREY-HEADED FRUIT BAT--GOULD’S FRUIT BAT--ROUSSETTE--EGYPTIAN FRUIT BAT--HOTTENTOT FRUIT BAT--MARITIME FRUIT BAT--MARGINED FRUIT BAT--WHITE’S FRUIT BAT--HAMMER-HEADED BAT--HARPY BAT--GREATER HARPY BAT--CLOAKED FRUIT BAT--DWARF LONG-TONGUED FRUIT BAT--BLACK-CHEEKED FRUIT BAT--FIJIAN LONG-TONGUED FRUIT BAT.
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.
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.
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.
“When at rest or asleep, the disposition of the limbs is most curious. At such times it suspends itself by one foot only, bringing the other close to its side, and thus it is enabled to wrap itself in the ample folds of its wings, which must envelop it like a mantle, leaving only its upturned head uncovered. Its fur is thus protected from damp and rain, and to some extent its body is sheltered from the sun.
“As it collects its food by means of its mouth, either when on the wing or when suspended within reach of it, the Flying Fox is always more or less liable to have the spoil wrested from it by its intrusive companions, before it can make good its way to some secure retreat in which to devour it unmolested. In such conflicts they bite viciously, tear each other with their hooks, and scream incessantly, till, taking to flight, the persecuted one reaches some place of safety, when he hangs by one foot, and grasping the fruit he has secured in the claws and opposable thumb of the other, he hastily reduces it to lumps, with which he stuffs his cheek-pouches till they become distended like those of a Monkey. Thus suspended in safety, he commences to chew and suck the pieces, rejecting the refuse with his tongue.” Sir James Emerson Tennent adds that the Flying Fox drinks by lapping, to do which it suspends itself head downwards from a branch above the water.
The flight of the Pteropidæ is strong and direct, although not very rapid, and they often travel considerable distances in search of favourite articles of food. During flight the hind legs are usually stretched out horizontally, and as the space between them is not, as in most other Bats, filled up by an interfemoral membrane, the animals appear as if they had two stiff tails. Their skin exhales a peculiar odour, which has been sometimes described as “musky,” although the term is hardly applicable to it. This odour, which is supposed to be due to the contamination of the fur with the urine of the animals, strongly pervades their dwelling-places, and unless great care is taken in skinning them their flesh is said to acquire a corresponding taste, which is a matter of some importance, as the larger species constitute a favourite article of food in the countries which they inhabit.
That the ancients were acquainted with some species of these Bats seems pretty certain, as one of them (Cynonycteris ægyptiacus) is common in Egypt, and, in fact, is frequently represented on the monuments of that country (see the engraving on the next page), and Aristotle refers to a tail-less African Bat, which was probably a Flying Fox. The town of Borsippa, in Mesopotamia, is mentioned by Strabo as being haunted by Bats of larger size than any of those known in Europe; and, indeed, that it was so haunted, and that the inhabitants ate these Bats, is nearly all that is definitely known of the town. The species was in all probability either the Egyptian one just referred to, or a nearly allied form (Cynonycteris amplexicaudata), which is known still to inhabit Persia. The Mosaic prohibition of the Bat as an article of food to the Jews also no doubt related to one of these species, which may have been commonly eaten in Egypt or in Syria.
Formerly it was considered a matter of considerable difficulty to keep these Frugivorous Bats alive in captivity, and especially to transport them to Europe; but the latter difficulty has disappeared with increased facilities of locomotion, and several species have been exhibited alive in various menageries and zoological gardens.
The Zoological Society’s beautiful Gardens in Regent’s Park, London, generally contain several examples of the Collared Fruit Bat of South Africa (Cynonycteris collaris). It may be noted that these animals thrive remarkably well in their rather confined cages in the Monkey House, where, unfortunately, they have no opportunity of displaying their activity on the wing; but the visitor may see their usual attitude in repose, suspended by their hind feet, and with their wings wrapped round them like a cloak, whilst the fact of their curtain being lifted is always sufficient to disturb some of them, and induce them to turn their sharp little noses and bright eyes in the direction of the intruder, and to utter the little querulous cry which seems to indicate their objection to being disturbed. At night, however, they become more active, crawling briskly about their cage, and quarrelling vigorously among themselves for the choice morsels of their food. They also breed freely in their prison (especially the African species). The young African Fruit Bats born in the Zoological Gardens were covered with short, smooth hair of a nearly uniform pale ash-colour, a little darker towards the tips. Only one was produced at a time, and this clung by its hind claws to the lower part of the body of the mother, with its mouth usually attached to one of the two nipples situated on the breast, as shown in the figure on the next page. The young Fruit Bats born in confinement may be brought up, as Mr. Bartlett tells us, to display some fondness for the person who takes care of them and feeds them. They will then, if let loose, crawl about upon him, and even mount upon his shoulder and demonstrate their affection by licking his face after the fashion of a Dog. In the uneducated state, however, they bite viciously.
THE INDIAN FLYING FOX.[146]
Southern Asia and its dependent islands may be regarded as the metropolis of the Fruit Bats. Here the species are most plentiful, and most numerously represented by individuals; it is here also that the largest species occur. One of the best-known is the Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus medius), some account of the habits of which, from the pen of Sir James Tennent, has already been given; and this species inhabits the whole of Hindostan, with the exception of the Punjab, Ceylon, Arracan, Tenasserim, and Pegu. It has been described by most writers under the name of P. Edwardsii, having been erroneously identified with a species inhabiting Madagascar and South-Eastern Africa. It measures about eleven inches in length,[147] and more than three feet in expanse of wing. As in all species of the typical genus Pteropus, of which it is the sole representative in the Indian peninsula, the tail in P. medius is entirely deficient, the tongue is of moderate size, and the molar teeth well developed--five on each side in the upper, and six in the lower jaw; the nostrils project, and are separated by a deep notch; the wing-membranes spring from the sides of the back, and are attached to the back of the first joint of the second toe; and the head and nape of the neck are covered with fur of a different colour from that of the rest of the upper part of the body. The latter is blackish or dark brown, with scattered greyish hairs. The nape of the neck and shoulders, the chest, and upper part of the abdomen are variable in colour from reddish-yellow or straw-colour to dingy rusty brown, the fur of the under surface being darker than that of the nape, and all the light tints darker in the females than in the males. The latter have usually a tuft of stiff hairs, of a light reddish-yellow colour, on each side of the neck. The ears, which are nearly naked, are acutely pointed, with the outer border concave just below the tip; the wing-membrane is dark brown, hairy beneath towards the body.
This species is referred to by nearly all writers on Indian zoology; but their accounts of its general habits agree closely with those given by Sir James Tennent, and already quoted. The Bats feed on fruits of various kinds, except oranges, according to Mr. Jerdon, and besides figs they are especially fond of the anonads, particularly the fruit of Gualteria longifolia, the soft parts of which they devour, rejecting the kernels, with which the ground under the trees is speedily covered. According to Mr. F. Day, the fruit of the wild almond (Terminalia catappa) is also a favourite article of diet with them, and he adds, “they sometimes carry off the almonds into the verandahs of houses, where they extract the kernels, and in so doing frighten nervous people into the belief that robbers are endeavouring to effect an entrance.” In search of these and other favourite fruits, they often fly to great distances during the night, returning with the dawn to their sleeping-places, when a scene of confusion takes place, which has been described as follows by Mr. Tickell:--“From the arrival of the first comer, until the sun is high above the horizon, a scene of incessant wrangling and contention is enacted among them, as each endeavours to secure a higher and better place, or to eject a neighbour from too close vicinage. In these struggles the Bats hook themselves along the branches, scrambling about hand over hand with some speed, biting each other severely, striking out with the long claw of the thumb, shrieking and cackling without intermission. Each new arrival is compelled to fly several times round the tree, being threatened from all points; and when he eventually hooks on he has to go through a series of combats, and be probably ejected two or three times, before he makes good his tenure.” No doubt these squabbles are rendered more violent by the disgracefully dissipated habits in which the Bats indulge during their nocturnal expeditions, for, according to Mr. Francis Day and other observers, “they often pass the night drinking the toddy from the chatties in the cocoa-nut trees, which results either in their returning home in the early morning in a state of extreme and riotous intoxication, or in being found the next day at the foot of the trees sleeping off the effects of their midnight debauch.”
The flesh is said by Colonel Sykes to be delicate, and without disagreeable flavour; but he states that the only persons in Western India who eat these Bats are the Portuguese residents. According to Mr. Jerdon, however, many classes in the Madras presidency also eat them.
THE GREAT KALONG.[148]
This, which is the largest of all known Bats, is an inhabitant of the great islands of the Eastern Archipelago, especially Java and Sumatra, where it exists in immense numbers. The species is also said to occur in the Philippine Islands and in Malacca. It is nearly allied to the Indian Fruit Bat, but grows to a larger size, attaining a length of about fourteen inches, and an expanse of wing of four feet and upwards. The colour varies considerably, but is generally brownish-black on the back, with the top of the head and the neck reddish-yellow, and tinged with chestnut-brown beneath. The muzzle, ears, and wing-membranes are black; the ears are shorter than in the Indian species, and the outer margin is less concave towards the tip; and the wing-membranes originate on the sides of the body at a greater distance from the centre of the back. Some of the varieties have been described as distinct species; two especially, in which the fur is entirely black, figure in the catalogues under the names of Pteropus Pluto and P. funereus.
The Kalong (see next page) was the first of the Indian Frugivorous Bats to be made known to European naturalists in modern times. It was described under the name of Vespertilio admirabilis, by Bontius, in his “Historia Naturalis Indiæ Orientalis.” The species was also described and figured by Seba and other naturalists of the seventeenth century; but Linnæus, by a curious blunder, confused the references to this and allied species with the stories told of the American Vampire Bats, and described these Eastern fruit-eating forms as constituting a species under the name of Vespertilio vampyrus, the natural history of which he summed up in the following queer paragraph:--“Noctu haurit sanguinem dormientium servorum, cristas gallorum et lacrymas palmarum, phlebotomus felicissimus in pleuritide!” (By night it sucks the blood of sleeping slaves, the combs of cocks, and the juice of palm-trees, a capital lancet in pleurisy!) In its habits it closely resembles its Indian ally, resorting in great numbers to particular trees for the purpose of sleeping through the day, and starting forth at sundown in search of the fruits on which it feeds. Dr. Horsfield describes them as presenting a singular spectacle in their dormitories. “Ranged in succession with the head downwards,” he says, “the membrane contracted about the body, and often in close contact, they have little resemblance to living beings, and by a person not accustomed to their economy are readily mistaken for a part of the tree, or for a fruit of uncommon size suspended from its branches.” He adds that they occasion “incalculable mischief, attacking and devouring indiscriminately every kind of fruit, from the abundant and useful cocoa-nut which surrounds every dwelling of the meanest peasantry, to the rare and most delicate productions which are cultivated with care by princes and chiefs of distinction.” In his history of Sumatra, Mr. Marsden states that he has observed very large flights of these Bats passing at a great height in the air, as if migrating from one country to another; and he adds that Captain Forrest noticed them crossing the Straits of Sunda from Java Head to Mount Pugong. The flesh of this species is eaten by the inhabitants of the countries where it abounds, who thus get some return for the mischief it does in their gardens and plantations. Its specific name (edulis) refers to this circumstance. Its name among the natives of Java is Kalong, and with the Malays of Sumatra and of the peninsula of Malacca Kaluwang, or Kluang.
THE NICOBAR, MANED, JAPANESE, AND GREY FRUIT BATS.[149]
It will be unnecessary to do more than refer to a few of the numerous species of Pteropus inhabiting the islands of the Eastern seas, as their habits in all cases are almost exactly alike, and it would be useless to attempt the bare description of a number of closely-allied species. The Nicobar and Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal have their peculiar species (P. nicobaricus), about the same size as the Indian Fruit Bat, but of which the females and young males are usually black all over, whilst the male has a reddish or chestnut-coloured tippet. The Philippine Islands have a rather remarkable species, the Maned Fruit Bat (P. jubatus), the head of which is shown in one of our illustrations on the next page. Japan possesses a smaller form (P. dasymallus), about eight inches long, which is characterised by the woolly nature of its fur, as indicated in its specific name. Those islands of the Eastern Archipelago from Celebes to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands which, according to Mr. Wallace, belong to the great Australian region, are abundantly supplied with fruit-eating Bats, such as the Grey Fruit Bat (P. griseus, see next page), a small species which inhabits Timor and Amboyna. The small islands scattered over the ocean to the east also possess their peculiar species.
THE GREY-HEADED FRUIT BAT.[150]
The northern and eastern parts of Australia are inhabited by a large species of Pteropus, the Grey-headed Fruit Bat (P. poliocephalus). This Bat measures about a foot long, and has an expanse of wing of about three feet. The head, cheeks, and throat are ash-grey, with a few scattered black hairs; the nape, part of the front of the neck, and the shoulders are bright reddish-brown, and separated by a black band from the grey fur of the body. These Bats, according to Dr. Bennett, are found in great numbers about Moreton Bay and the northern districts of New South Wales. They could be observed “hanging in dense clusters from the uppermost branches of the lofty gum and other trees, which often bend so much under the weight, that the spectator is in momentary expectation of their breaking off with a crash, and falling to the ground encumbered with their heavy load of Bats.” The same observer remarks that, although their regular activity is crepuscular and nocturnal, they occasionally seek food for a short time during the day, and he adds when seen flying about the trees in the daytime they resemble rooks so closely as to have been frequently mistaken for those birds. Since the cultivation of fruit has been carried on extensively in New South Wales and Queensland, these Bats have been found to do a vast amount of injury to the plantations.
Mr. Gould, speaking of this Bat, says, “The enormous number that may be seen sleeping pendent from the trees in the more secluded parts of the forest are beyond conception. It is not surprising, therefore, that the settlers whose abodes may be in the neighbourhood of one of these colonies should find their peach-orchards devastated in a single night. Indeed, no one of the native animals is more troublesome to the settlers than this large Bat, which, resorting to the fruit-grounds by night, when it is impossible to protect them from its attacks, commits the most fearful havoc.” Like the Indian species, this Bat is exceedingly fond of the wild fig.
GOULD’S FRUIT BAT.[151]
Mr. Gould described and figured from Northern Australia a large species of Fruit Bat of a sombre colour, with a reddish-brown neck-spot, which he identified with the Pteropus funereus of Timor, a supposed species which is now regarded as a mere colour-variety of the Great Kalong. The Australian Bat is described by Professor Peters as a distinct species under the above name. It is about nine inches in length. We have the following observations upon its mode of occurrence and habits:--Mr. Gilbert found it to be extremely abundant in the Coburg peninsula. During the day the Bats were seen suspended in great numbers from the upper branches of the mangroves overhanging the creeks. They constantly emit a very strong and disagreeable odour, which is perceptible at a considerable distance. At night they become exceedingly active, and while flying about in quest of food they utter a loud, trembling, but shrill whistle.
Dr. Leichardt, in his expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, found this Bat an excellent article of food. According to him it feeds upon fruit and the honey of various flowers. After it had fed upon the flowers of the so-called tea-tree, he found it to be unusually fat and delicate; while those Bats which had been revelling among the blossoms of the gum-trees were not so fat, and had a strong unpleasant odour. In the neighbourhood of the River Roper the Bats occurred in myriads, suspended in thick clusters on the highest trees in the shady and moist parts of the valley. They started from their repose as the travellers passed, and the flapping of their great leathery wings produced a sound like that of a hail-storm.
THE ROUSSETTE.[152]
The so-called Mascarene Islands, Mauritius and Bourbon, those specks in the great Indian ocean which, when first discovered, harboured so many curious birds, also furnished one of the earliest known species of Fruit Bats, the Roussette (Pteropus vulgaris, see next page), which was described by Gesner and Clusius. This species, which is said to occur also in Madagascar, and even on the mainland of Africa, is about eight and a half inches long, and three feet in expanse of wing. The muzzle, forehead, and cheeks are rusty red; the crown of the head, the nape, and the sides and front of the neck yellowish-red; and two longitudinal bands of the same colour run parallel to each other down the middle of the back, separated by a strip of blackish chestnut, which, with the similarly coloured shoulders, forms a sort of cross; the sides of the back are rusty red, and the lower surface of the body black. It is probably to the generally reddish tinge of its fur that this species owes its French name of Roussette, which has been extended in its application to the whole of the Frugivorous Bats.
THE EGYPTIAN FRUIT BAT.[153]
The majority of the African Fruit Bats belong to genera which have been separated from the old genus Pteropus. Thus we have several species of Cynonycteris (Xantharpyia and Eleutherura of the late Dr. Gray), in which the characters are generally those of Pteropus, but there is a short tail more or less enclosed in the interfemoral membrane, and the basal portion of the thumb is joined to the index finger by a membrane. To this genus belongs the Egyptian species already referred to (Cynonycteris ægyptiaca), representations of which occur on Egyptian monuments (see page 269). This species is about five and a half inches long, with an expanse of wing of eighteen or twenty inches; the tail is rather more than half an inch long, and the basal half of it is enclosed in the interfemoral membrane; the ears are rather long, rounded at the tips, and naked; the upper surface of the body is pale greyish-brown, becoming yellowish on the sides and the hairy part of the arms, and the lower surface is whitish. These Bats are found abundantly in Egypt, where they dwell amongst the ruins of its ancient edifices, and in the dark chambers of the Pyramids. They also occur in Senegambia in Western Africa, and in Syria.
THE HOTTENTOT FRUIT BAT.[154]
An abundant species of South Africa is the Hottentot Fruit Bat (Cynonycteris collaris), specimens of which may be seen in the Zoological Gardens, where they breed pretty freely. This species varies considerably in colour, but usually displays various shades of reddish or greyish-brown. The fur is less dense on the nape of the neck, which in consequence generally has a rather bare appearance. This Bat occurs at the Cape of Good Hope, in Caffraria, and in Mozambique.
THE MARITIME FRUIT BAT.[155]
These tailed Fruit Bats are represented in the East Indian region by several species, which gives the genus Cynonycteris a geographical range from the Philippine Islands in the north-east to the Cape of Good Hope in the south-west. The best-known Indian species (Cynonycteris amplexicaudata), is nearly allied to the Egyptian form, but smaller, being little more than four inches in length. Its fur is reddish-brown, or brownish-red above, and so short upon the back that this part appears nearly bare. The range of this Bat extends from the shores of the Persian Gulf to the Philippine Islands, and it appears always to haunt the coasts. As already stated this Bat is supposed by some zoologists to feed on mollusca and other marine animals picked up on the seashore.
THE MARGINED FRUIT BAT.[156]
In the Cynopteri, which are small Fruit Bats inhabiting Southern Asia and its islands, the characters are very similar to those of the preceding genera, but the muzzle is considerably shorter and more Dog-like, and one of the true molars is deficient, so that the whole series of molar teeth contains four on each side in the upper, and five on each side in the lower jaw. The most abundant species is the Cynopterus marginatus (see next page), which is about four inches in length, and varies in colour through different shades of brown and reddish-brown. It is specially distinguished by having the ears surrounded by a white border. This Bat occurs in all parts of India, in Ceylon, in Further India, and in the eastern islands to Celebes and the Philippines. It is exceedingly common, and very destructive to fruits, especially guavas, plantains, and mangoes. Mr. Dobson gives the following account of the voracity of a specimen obtained by him at Calcutta:--He gave it “a ripe banana, which, with the skin removed, weighed exactly two ounces. The animal immediately, as if famished with hunger, fell upon the fruit, seized it between the thumbs and the index fingers, and took large mouthfuls out of it, opening the mouth to the fullest extent with extreme voracity. In the space of three hours the whole fruit was consumed. Next morning the Bat was killed, and found to weigh one ounce, half the weight of the food eaten in three hours! Indeed, the animal when eating seemed to be a kind of living mill, the food passing from it almost as fast as devoured, eating being performed alone for the sake of the pleasure of eating.” It is hardly fair, perhaps, to apply the character of this disgusting little gormandiser to his whole species, but no doubt if the rest of his kind only approximate to his prowess, they must do incalculable mischief in the plantations of fruit-trees. According to Captain Hutton, these Bats travel long distances, as much as thirty or forty miles in search of food, and back again the same night. This is most strikingly shown in their frequenting the valleys of the Dehra Doon and Nepaul to feed on the guavas growing there, as they are never seen in these localities during the day, but arrive there during the fruit season about midnight, and depart again before morning. “To reach Dehra,” says Captain Hutton, “they must either cross the Sivalik range of hills, from 3,000 to 3,500 feet high, or thread their way for miles through the passes leading into the Doon, though even then we may ask with amazement how, when they are approaching the Sivaliks, they can tell that there is fruit some twenty miles in advance of them! To reach the valley of Nepaul at 6,000 feet of elevation they must ascend and descend the mountains; and yet, wonderful to say, they penetrate no farther into the hills, neither do they descend from the Doon to Mussooree, apparently instinctively knowing that they will find no guavas farther in the hills! Almost equally astonishing is it that, having thus feasted in the Doon and Nepaul, they should be able to find their way back again, through forests and hills, for thirty or forty miles to their natural haunts in the plains.” Captain Hutton fully confirms Mr. Dobson’s statements as to the greediness of this Bat. He says that one he had “in Calcutta in 1849 appeared to be almost incessantly eating, resting only, even during the day, for a short interval of sleep, and then recommencing upon ripe guavas, as if it had not seen food for a fortnight.”
WHITE’S FRUIT BAT.[157]
A series of peculiar species are inhabitants of the continent of Africa, from the Northern tropic to the Cape of Good Hope. They have the muzzle rather elongated, the molar teeth three on each side in the upper, and five on each side in the lower jaw, the base of the thumb united to the index finger by membrane, and the tail very short and chiefly enclosed in the small interfemoral membrane. The males have tufts of divergent white hairs on the shoulders, whence the generic name of Epomophorus, applied to these Bats, has been derived. The best-known species is the Epomophorus Whitii, an inhabitant of Western Africa (Senegambia and Guinea), which measures about six and a half inches in length, and has an expanse of wing of about eighteen inches. Its fur is reddish-brown above, and greyish beneath, and both sexes present white spots at the base of the ears.
THE HAMMER-HEADED BAT.[158]
A species presenting so grotesque an appearance that it might almost have served as the original of one of Callot’s demons (see next page), was discovered some years ago in Western Africa, by M. Du Chaillu, and described by Dr. Allen, of Philadelphia. It is allied to Epomophorus, but differs from all other Pteropine Bats in the extraordinary size and shape of the head, which has a hammer-like appearance, owing to the muzzle being enormously developed and cut off abruptly in front, and the whole of this part of the animal is garnished with curious fleshy lobes, which give it a most singular aspect. The length of the head and body is about twelve inches, and the expanse of the wings twenty-eight inches. Of its habits nothing appears to be known.
THE HARPY BAT.[159]
The Harpy Bat (Harpyia cephalotes), is a remarkable species, having a short and rounded head, with the nostrils wide apart and somewhat tubular, and a very peculiar dentition, there being only two incisor teeth in the upper jaw, and none in the lower, while the upper jaw has only four and the lower one six molars. This Bat, the Molucca Bat of Pennant and Shaw, inhabits the islands of Celebes and Amboyna. It is nearly four inches in length, and has an expanse of wing of about fourteen inches.
Mr. Dobson has recently described a second species of Harpy from Duke of York Island, near New Guinea, which may be called the Greater Harpy Bat (Harpyia major). It is much larger than the above species, and is especially remarkable for the great length of the nasal tubes. The general colour of the fur is pale buff.
THE CLOAKED FRUIT BAT.[160]
This is another very curious Bat which inhabits Amboyna, but is also met with in Timor and Banda. It differs from all the preceding forms by wanting the claw at the extremity of the first finger, and is further remarkable by having the wing-membranes springing from the middle line of the back, so as to form a complete mantle for the animal. In the form of the head, this Bat resembles the true Pteropi, but the dentition approaches that of Harpyia, the incisors being usually two in each jaw, and the lower ones sometimes deficient, and the molars four and six in the upper and lower jaws respectively. This Bat is about six inches long, with an expanse of wing of rather more than two feet. The colour of the fur in adult animals is generally olive-grey, often with a brownish tinge, and the wing-membranes are light brown and translucent. The tail is short, and about half enclosed in the interfemoral membrane.
THE DWARF LONG-TONGUED FRUIT BAT.[161]
The remaining forms of the Frugivorous Bats to which we have to refer constitute a peculiar group, characterised by having the tongue very long, thin, capable of being pushed far out of the mouth, and covered with peculiar recurved, brush-like papillæ, and the molar teeth very small and scarcely raised above the surface of the gum (see figure below). From the great length of the tongue, the name of Macroglossus was applied by F. Cuvier to the first species of this group that was discovered; and, as it is the smallest species of the family, it received from its original describer the specific name of minimus. The Macroglossus minimus is, in fact, a mere dwarf in comparison with the large Bats which constitute the majority of the Pteropidæ, measuring only from two and a half to three inches in length, with an expanse of wing of from eight to ten inches. The muzzle is long and narrow, with the nostrils not projecting; the index finger has a claw at its tip; the wing-membranes spring from the sides of the body, and run down to the base of the fourth toe; and the tail is very short, free from the interfemoral membrane, but usually concealed beneath the fur. The colour of the fur is reddish-brown. The tongue is said to be two inches long. This little Fruit Bat occurs upon the Himalayas, at Darjéling, and extends thence through Burmah and Siam to the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, and as far south as the northern and western parts of Australia. According to Dr. Horsfield, this species, although far less abundant in Java than the great Kalong, exists there in sufficient numbers to inflict serious injury upon the plantations of fruit-trees. It particularly affects the most succulent fruits, such as those of various species of Eugenia, known in Java as Jamboo. Probably the peculiar structure of the tongue has some connection with this soft, juicy diet.
THE BLACK-CHEEKED FRUIT BAT.[162]
Among the Bats from Duke of York Island, north-east of New Guinea, lately described by Mr. Dobson, there is a most characteristic species of the long-tongued group, which may be called the Black-cheeked Fruit Bat. It has the long thin tongue, armed with brush-like papillæ, of Macroglossus, the nostrils bounded at the sides by naked raised edges, the metacarpal bone of the middle finger as long as the whole index finger, the wing-membranes starting from the sides of the body and from the back of the middle toe. In the number of the teeth it agrees with Macroglossus, but differs somewhat in the position of the pre-molars, the first of which are very small and placed close to the canines, while the second and third are separated from this and from each other by considerable interspaces. We have no information as to the habits of this Bat, which is figured on the next page.
THE FIJIAN LONG-TONGUED FRUIT BAT.[163]
The only other species of this group was described by the late Dr. Gray, under the name of Notopteris Macdonaldii, and it is interesting as reproducing the peculiar character presented by Cephalotes of having the wing-membranes springing from the middle of the back. In the structure of the tongue it agrees with Macroglossus; but it has no claw on the first finger; its tail is elongated; and it has only two incisors in each jaw, and four molars on each side in the upper, and five in the lower jaw. This curious Bat is an inhabitant of the Fiji Islands.
SUB-ORDER II.--MICROCHIROPTERA, OR INSECTIVOROUS BATS.
III. HORSESHOE BATS AND MEGADERMS
INSECTIVOROUS BATS--Mr. Dobson’s Objection to the Name--Characteristics--Nasal Appendages--THE VESPERTILIONINE AND EMBALLONURINE ALLIANCES--The Fur in the Two Alliances--THE HORSESHOE BATS--General Characteristics--Distribution--Diet--Carnivorous Propensities--GREATER HORSESHOE BAT--General Appearance--“Nose Leaves”--Habitat--THE LESSER HORSESHOE BAT--Habitat--THE MOURNING HORSESHOE BAT--THE AUSTRALIAN HORSESHOE BAT--THE ORANGE BAT--PHYLLORHINÆ--THE DIADEM BAT--Character of their “Nose Leaves”--Captain Hutton’s Account of their Habits--THE PERSIAN TRIDENT BAT--THE MEGADERMS--THE LYRE BAT--Characteristics--Called Vampire by Europeans in India--Mr. Blyth’s Account of a Megaderm’s Blood-thirstiness--THE CORDATE LEAF BAT--THE AFRICAN MEGADERM--THE DESERT BAT.
The second sub-order of Bats--which includes a much larger number of species, displaying a far greater variety of characters than those which have hitherto occupied our attention--has received the name of Insectivora, from the general nature of the diet of the animals composing it. Mr. Dobson objects to this name, chiefly on account of there being already an order of Mammalia bearing the same designation; and he proposes to call these Bats Microchiroptera, in allusion to the small size of most of the species in comparison with the majority of the Pteropidæ. Moreover, although the food of most of these Bats consists exclusively of insects, some of them feed, at least partially, upon other vertebrate animals, and a few are known to eat fruit.
The Bats belonging to this second sub-order may be at once distinguished by the structure of their molar teeth, which are armed with acute tubercles, separated, more or less completely, by transverse furrows. The ears also differ from those of the Pteropidæ, in that the two margins of the conch start from different points on the surface of the head, and, in a great number of cases, they are complicated by a membranous lobe, springing from near their base, or by a great development of the tragus, or anterior lobe of the ear. The tail in these Bats is generally well developed, and the index finger is never terminated by a claw.
A considerable number of Insectivorous Bats of different families have their noses furnished (we cannot say adorned) with curious leaf-like appendages, often of most complicated construction (see some of the illustrations), and these organs, as has already been stated, probably assist materially in the exercise of that delicate sense of touch which supplements or takes the place of the power of vision in guiding the Bats in their obscure abodes. In general, the presence or absence of nasal appendages being an exceedingly obvious character, has been adopted by zoologists as the means of classifying these Bats, and the order has been commonly divided into two groups--the Istiophora, or those with a nose-leaf, and the Gymnorhina, or Anistiophora, in which there is no such appendage. Mr. Dobson, who has devoted a great deal of attention to the Chiroptera, finds, however, that by following this system certain forms are grouped together which have little in common, whilst in other cases real affinities are lost sight of, and he suggests another mode of division, which, for many reasons, appears to be the most natural that has hitherto been proposed. He ranges the families of his Microchiroptera in two alliances, the leading characters of which may be briefly indicated as follows:--
In the first, or Vespertilionine alliance, so called from its including our common Bats (Vespertiliones), the tail is generally long, never absent, and always entirely enclosed in the interfemoral membrane, with the exception of the extreme tip, which projects a very little; the pre-maxillary bones are rudimentary, and the upper incisor teeth which they carry small and weak; and the first phalanx of the middle finger is extended in repose in a line with the metacarpal bone.
In the second, or Emballonurine alliance, so called from one of the genera included in it, the tail, which is frequently absent or short, except in two or three species, is not contained within the interfemoral membrane, but has its extremity free, usually perforating the membrane and appearing on its upper surface. The pre-maxillary bones are generally well developed, and the incisors large; and the first phalanx of the middle finger is folded forward in repose above or below the metacarpal bone.
The character derived from the condition of the middle finger in repose seems to be regarded as of the most importance by Mr. Dobson, who says that it is connected with differences in the habits of the animals; but those of the tail and incisor teeth will be most useful to the student in determining to which alliance he is to refer his specimens; and, although they are liable to exceptions in the second group, will never both fail in the same individual.
A striking confirmation of the naturalness of this arrangement is to be found in the fact that even the microscopic character of the fur differs in the two alliances. In the first, the longer hairs of the fur when magnified show a series of scales, imbricated or partly overlapping each other, something like the grains of corn in the ear, the tips, which are not acute or very prominent, forming a sort of spiral line round the surface of the hair (see Fig. a). In the second alliance, on the contrary, the scales--which are smaller and narrowed, with acute and projecting tips--are arranged in rings round the hair, giving it a somewhat jointed appearance (see Fig. b). Mr. Dobson has examined the fur of a majority of the genera of these Bats, and also submitted his specimens to the examination of Dr. J. D. Macdonald, F.R.S., and both these gentlemen find the differences in the structure of the hair always perfectly in accordance with the arrangement above indicated, with but two exceptions, one of them being a genus which really forms a sort of connecting link between the two alliances, and the other having fur quite different from that of any other Bat, and in which the scales can hardly be distinguished.
VESPERTILIONINE ALLIANCE.
FAMILY II.--RHINOLOPHIDÆ, OR HORSESHOE BATS.
The Bats of this family are usually called Horseshoe Bats, from the circumstance that their noses are furnished with leaf-like membranous appendages of rather complicated structure, the front part of which is usually something like a horseshoe in its form (see figure on next page). The nostrils are situated within this horseshoe, between it and the other parts of the nose-leaf, which vary considerably in their shape and structure. The middle finger has two phalanges, or joints, beyond the long metacarpal bone, a character common to all the Bats of this alliance, with only a single exception; and the ears have no tragus. Throughout the family there are two small incisor teeth in the upper jaw, and four in the lower, and three true molars on each side in both jaws; but the number of pre-molars varies, being usually two on each side in the upper jaw, and either two or three in the lower; whilst in one curious species the upper pre-molars are only one on each side.
The Rhinolophidæ are confined to the Eastern hemisphere, of which they chiefly inhabit the warmer parts. They are generally insectivorous in their habits, but some of the larger species are said to prey upon other vertebrate animals, and not even to spare their smaller brethren. Thus, Mr. Frith informed Mr. Blyth that “a number of these Bats were in the habit of resorting to the verandah of his residence in Mymensing (Burmah), and that every morning the ground under them was strewed with the hind-quarters of Frogs and the wings of large Grasshoppers and Crickets. On one occasion the remains of a small fish were observed; but Frogs appeared to constitute their chief diet--never Toads, and of a quiet evening these animals could be distinctly heard crushing the heads and smaller bones of their victims.”
Captain Hutton also states that various species of Rhinolophidæ, and some Vespertilionidæ,[164] when confined with some smaller species than themselves, will prey upon them; and he suggests that these carnivorous propensities may be “the reason why the larger species keep aloof in pairs, instead of congregating, as do some of the smaller kinds.” In illustration of this suggestion he gives the following interesting account of a cave frequented by Bats:--He says, “I know of an enormous cave at Mussooree, to which various species, both large and small, are in the habit of resorting for rest and concealment during the day. Standing within this spacious vault in the earliest hours, just before the first streaks of day appear, the spectator is perfectly astonished at the numbers of Bats resorting to it; not, however, in one promiscuous crowd, but in separate detachments, each seeking its own particular quarter of the cavern, and alighting against the sides, at first within reach of a Butterfly-net, and commence crawling upwards and backwards to spots beyond the reach of invasion from below. Here, in one spot, will be seen a pair of Rhinolophus luctus, hanging high up, and quite apart from all the rest; in another place hangs a pair of Phyllorhina armiger, the large ears and the facial crests in active tremulous motion as the head is turned in every direction to ascertain that no intruder is nigh its dwelling-place, until, this restlessness gradually passing off, the animal hangs at length quietly suspended by the feet. In another direction are a dozen or more of Rhinolophus minor, rapidly scrambling all together, like a lot of crabs, up the inequalities of the rocky surface, and hurriedly disappearing into some deep, narrow crack or crevice; while again, in another part, the same scene is observed, as dozens of a very small species of Nycticejus (Scotophilus) scramble into similar hiding-places, to rest in peace until the hour for again emerging in search of prey calls them all forth once more.”
THE GREATER HORSESHOE BAT.[165]
Although, as already stated, most of the Horseshoe Bats inhabit warm countries, several species are found in more temperate regions. One of these is the Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum), which occurs, although not very abundantly, in various parts of the South of England. He is a puffy and rather pursy-looking little fellow, with a head which appears full large for his body. The length of his head and body is about two and a half inches, and that of his tail, which is entirely enclosed in the interfemoral membrane, about an inch and one-third. His wings have an expanse of thirteen or fourteen inches. The fur on the upper surface is reddish-grey, and on the lower surface very pale grey; the membranes are of a dingy brown colour, and the ears and nasal appendages pale brown. The ears are large, broad at their attachment to the head, pointed and turned outwards at the apex. From the outer margin ten or a dozen transverse furrows run towards the middle of the ear. The outer margin, at its junction with the head, is also continuous with a low rounded lobe[166] which bounds the aperture of the ear in front, and may be used to close the cavity. The nasal appendages, or “nose-leaves,” are very curious and complicated (see figure, p. 281). The anterior, or horseshoe-shaped portion, lies longitudinally upon the nose, and is formed of three concentric elevations, the innermost of which bounds the depression in which the nostrils are placed. Between the nostrils arises the central process, the anterior portion of which forms a sort of cup, behind which the process is slightly narrowed and excavated, but again widens before terminating in a short but rather sharp point. This point overhangs the third, or frontal leaf, which touches the horseshoe portion, and is about as broad as the latter at their junction, and tapers up to a point upon the forehead. The eyes, which are like little black beads, are placed on each side of the junction of the horseshoe and the frontal leaf.
These curious structures are found with slight variations in all the species of the genus Rhinolophus, to which this Bat belongs. The nasal appendages vary somewhat in the form and proportions of their parts, and the basal lobe, or antitragus of the ears, is developed in different degrees in various species, but their general character is always recognisable. Other marks by which the species of this genus may be recognised are the presence of three joints in the first toe, the others possessing only two, and the dentition, which includes the full number of teeth developed in the family, namely, incisors, 2/4, canines, (1–1)/(1–1), pre-molars, (2–2)/(3–3), molars, (3–3)/(3–3).
The Greater Horseshoe Bat lives chiefly in deserted quarries, old buildings, and natural caverns, and is said to frequent the darkest and most inaccessible parts of such excavations. Thus, Montagu found it in company with the smaller species next to be described, in “Kent’s Hole,” near Torquay, “a retreat,” says Mr. Bell, “so dark and gloomy, that no other species, even of this lucifugal family, were found to frequent it.” In such retreats it passes the winter in a torpid state, coming forth in the spring to prey upon the insects which constitute its sole nourishment. It is said often to feed upon chafers, but to eat only the body. That it does not disdain smaller game, however, appears from Pennant’s record of its original discovery in England by Dr. Latham, who obtained it at Dartford, in Kent, where, says Pennant, “they are found in greatest numbers in the saltpetre houses belonging to the powder-mills; and frequent them during the evening for the sake of the Gnats which swarm there. They have also been found during winter, in a torpid state, clinging to the roof.” Mr. James Salter, in a communication to Mr. Bell, mentions his having caught one of these Bats on the 29th of September, 1865, in so appropriate a locality as the “haunted room” at Tomson Manor House, Dorsetshire. It was flitting about the room when he went to bed, having entered by an open window. “On the next three nights, which were still and calm,” he says, “I saw numbers of (apparently) the same Bats flying around the house among a grove of sycamores. The flight was low, short, and sluggish, both in the room and out of doors.”
This Bat suckles its young, after the usual fashion of Bats, at the two pectoral teats. Several authors, and among others Geoffroy, have maintained that the Horseshoe Bat, and indeed all the species of the family to which it belongs, possess, besides the ordinary pectoral teats, a second pair situated on the groin. This, however, is not the case, for the nipple-like appendages situated on the groin in the females of this group have been proved to have no connection with any mammary glands.
In England the Greater Horseshoe Bat has been found in various localities in the southern counties. Besides Dartford, where it was originally discovered in this country, Mr. Bell mentions Margate, Rochester, and Bristol Cathedrals, Colchester, caverns at Clifton, and the Undercliff of the Isle of Wight. On the continent of Europe it inhabits the whole of the southern and central parts from Spain and Portugal in the west, to Greece and Turkey in the east, extending northwards as far as central Germany and southern Russia. In Asia it is found in Syria and Asia Minor, and ranges thence eastwards to Nepaul and Mussooree; whilst in Africa it appears to stretch from Algeria to the Cape of Good Hope. Over this wide range, as might be expected, the species does not always display precisely the same characters, and variations of greater or less importance have led to the establishment of supposed distinct species; amongst others, the Japanese Rhinolophus nippon is regarded by Mr. Dobson as identical with our Greater Horseshoe Bat.
THE LESSER HORSESHOE BAT.[167]
The Lesser Horseshoe Bat, the second British species of this genus, was formerly regarded only as a small variety of the preceding, and was first distinguished by Colonel Montagu, who also first detected its occurrence in England. It is about half an inch shorter than the Greater Horseshoe Bat, and its expanse of wing is about nine inches. In general aspect it resembles the larger species. The fur is equally soft and full, and of the same colours, except that the upper surface is a little browner, and the lower parts rather more tinged with yellow. In the ears the transverse furrows are scarcely perceptible, and the basal lobe is rather larger in proportion. There are also some small, but constant, peculiarities in the structure of the nasal appendages. The central leaf is less prominent and less cupped at the base than in R. ferrum-equinum; the frontal leaf is lance-shaped, and not much dilated at the sides towards the base; and the outer margin of the horseshoe is slightly crenulated (see figure).
In its habits this kind seems to agree with the Greater Horseshoe Bat. As already mentioned, the two species were taken together by Montagu in “Kent’s Hole,” clinging in considerable numbers to the vaulted roof of the interior apartments. It was first discovered by him in rather a singular situation, namely, a hole over a baker’s oven, which it had entered through a fissure. He afterwards found it in a dark shed surrounded by tall trees, at Lackham, in Wiltshire. In the second edition of Mr. Bell’s “British Quadrupeds” there is an interesting account of the manners of this species. The writer mentions the occurrence of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat in two localities in Warwickshire, one of these being the roof of the neglected mansion of the Marquis of Hertford at Ragley, near Alcester. Numbers of Long-eared Bats were found, chiefly in pairs, in holes in the massive timbers, but “although several of the Horseshoe Bats were seen flitting in the deep gloom, broken only by an occasional gleam of light through some small crevice, and by our lighted candle, yet a careful search was for some time unrewarded by the discovery of a single individual in its resting-place. A great accumulation of excrement around a huge central stack of chimneys at length attracted attention, and a long stick, thrust upwards in a narrow opening between the chimneys, soon dislodged several of these Bats, which were caught as they descended, and before they were well on the wing, after which pursuit proved useless. Some of these examples being at various times liberated in a room, exhibited extraordinary powers of flight. One of them displayed in its search for a means of exit an ability which was quite extraordinary. It literally flew into every part of the room, and behind and under everything, even under a bookcase standing against a wall, although there was scarcely a space of three inches between it and the floor ... it flew into a vacancy occasioned by the removal of a moderate octavo volume, without having so much as touched anything with the tips of its wings.” In examining the window this Bat searched every pane inch by inch, its wings while thus occupied being “kept in a vibratory state, the face of the animal being directly in front of the glass, and very near to it, as if looking out of window.” The impression produced on the observers was that the animal was “feeling its way about like a blind person;” but “at the same time its shyness when approached sufficiently testified that its organs of sight were by no means inactive.” In order to rest, instead of adhering like most other Bats against some object by means of its claws, it always sought for something from which it could hang freely. According to Dr. Leach this Bat is easily tamed, but is fond of concealing itself.
Besides the English localities already mentioned, the Lesser Horseshoe Bat is found not unfrequently at Cirencester and in some parts of Ireland. Professor King obtained it in Galway; and from the statements of Mr. Foot and Professor Kinahan it appears to be the commonest Bat in some parts of County Clare. Its European distribution is much the same as that of the preceding species, but it seems to extend rather farther to the north. It is also found in the Caucasus and in South-western Siberia. North African specimens are said to be paler in colour than European.[168]
THE MOURNING HORSESHOE BAT.[169]
Other species of Rhinolophus are met with chiefly in India and the Asiatic Islands. One of the most striking of them, and indeed the largest species of the genus, measuring more than three and a half-inches in length, is the Mourning Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus luctus, see figure), an inhabitant of the higher grounds of India, Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, and the Philippine Islands. This Bat is remarkable for the great development of the nasal appendages, the central leaf being expanded on each side into a lobe nearly as long as the central ascending portion, the horseshoe very large, so as to project beyond the upper lip, and the frontal leaf so long as to ascend between the ears. The latter organs are also of great size, and have a large basal lobe (antitragus) separated from the outer margin of the ear by a deep angular notch. The fur is very long and thick, and usually black with grey tips, so that the species appears to be in mourning, whence its specific name; it is, however, subject to considerable variation in this respect, some specimens being reddish-brown. Captain Hutton, who resided for a considerable time at Mussooree, has described the habits of this Bat, which he found in the Himalayas up to an elevation of 5,500 feet, where it was “hanging from the roof of an outhouse, looking, with its ample black wings folded round it as a cloak, somewhat like a large black cocoon.” He says that it commences its flight rather early in the evening, and generally keeps at about twenty or thirty feet from the ground, wheeling, with a somewhat heavy and noiseless flight, around buildings and large trees in search of small Moths and other insects. He adds that he has taken them from the roofs of outhouses and from wide caves in limestone rocks, and that they seem generally to live in pairs and not in communities, although several pairs may be found in a large cave. At Mussooree they fly only during the warmer months, and remain in a semi-torpid state during the winter, but Captain Hutton suggests that in the warmer climates of Sikkim and the Khasia hills they may be active all the year round. Another smaller species with a similar central nose-leaf has been described under the name of R. trifoliatus; it is an inhabitant of the eastern coast of India, Java, and Borneo. These two species form the genus Aquias of the late Dr. Gray.[170]
THE AUSTRALIAN HORSESHOE BAT.[171]
A single species of Rhinolophus occurs in Australia, having been obtained from caverns on the Murrumbidgee River, and also near Richmond River in New South Wales. It has pale mouse-coloured fur. The ears are large, with long basal lobes, and the nasal appendages are larger than in the European species, the frontal leaf being lance-shaped and long, and the horseshoe rather deeply notched in front. In allusion to the large size of the nose-leaves this species has been called R. megaphyllus.
THE ORANGE BAT.[172]
Another Australian species of Leaf-nosed Bat, belonging, however, to a distinct genus, of which, indeed, it is the sole representative, is the Orange Bat (Rhinonycteris aurantia, see p. 285). This species, which is about two inches long, is clothed with a soft fur, which, in the male, is of a bright orange colour, and in the female pale yellow. This coloration is exceedingly remarkable in an animal of nocturnal habits, as these are generally rather sombre in their tints. The nose-leaf in the Orange Bat is somewhat similar in its character to that of the true Rhinolophi, but in its other peculiarities this Bat is rather related to those which we shall next have to describe, and thus forms a sort of transition between the two groups. It has the toes equal, and composed of only two phalanges, a character which distinguishes it from the preceding species; whilst its resemblance to them in the structure of the nose-leaf serves to separate it from its following allies. The teeth resemble those of Rhinolophus. In repose the tail and interfemoral membrane are generally turned back, which appears to be the case in some at all events of the following species. This species inhabits Northern Australia, and is especially abundant on the Coburg peninsula. It reposes during the day in hollow spouts and holes of the gum-trees.
THE DIADEM BAT.[173]
Whilst the Rhinolophi are chiefly inhabitants of elevated localities, especially in tropical regions, the members of the second large genus of Horseshoe Bats (Phyllorhina) for the most part frequent the plains and lower hills of the same countries. The most definite character separating the Phyllorhinæ from the Rhinolophi is the presence of only two phalanges (joints) in all the toes of the hind feet, the first toe in Rhinolophus having three such joints. The nose-leaf consists of a horseshoe and of two other portions, which, however, differ considerably in form from those of Rhinolophus; the anterior portion being horseshoe-shaped, but not notched in front, the intermediate part not forming a prominent process, but broad and heart-shaped, and the posterior part broad, erect, and concave in front. The number of teeth is the same as in Rhinolophus, except in one species (P. tridens), which has only a single pre-molar on each side in the upper jaw. Fourteen species of this genus are cited by Mr. Dobson as inhabiting the East Indies and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, and one of them, the Diadem Bat (Phyllorhina armigera), which is found among the mountains of Northern India, extends its range as far north as Amoy in China. The characters of the nose-leaf in this species will be seen from the annexed figures, which show strikingly the great complexity of this curious apparatus. Behind the nose-leaf is the aperture of a peculiar sac situated in the forehead, which is characteristic of many species of the genus, and which can be turned out like the finger of a glove at the pleasure of the animal, and the surface of which secretes a waxy substance. Its centre bears a tuft of straight hairs, the tips of which project from the orifice when the sac is drawn in. The Diadem Bat is rather a large species, the head and body measuring from three and a half to four inches in length, and the expanse of the wings being about two feet. Its general colour is light brown, darker on the upper surface, where the hairs are ringed with three colours--pale sepia at the base, then grey, then dark sepia, with the extreme tips a little paler.
The late Captain Hutton has given an account of the habits of this species as observed by him at Mussooree, where specimens were captured at elevations of 5,500 and 6,000 feet above the sea-level. At the latter elevation a pair resided in a loft, from which they issued every evening about dusk, and flew with a slow, deliberate flight round the house, from which they never departed to any great distance. They did not remain on the wing long at a time, but retired at intervals to their dwelling-place in the loft. The same writer describes these Bats, which seem to emerge from their concealment very early in the evening, as leisurely wheeling with noiseless flight round some wide-spreading oak, attracted by the loud discordant note of a large Cicada, which is abundant during the rainy season, and only pours forth its clamorous evening song just as the sun begins to dip below the horizon. “It is during this dreadfully harsh concert,” he adds, “when almost every tree sends forth its stunning notes, that this Bat emerges from its hiding-place, wheeling round and round the trees, scanning each branch as he slowly passes by, now rising to a higher circle, and then descending towards the lower branches, until at length, detecting the unfortunate minstrel, it darts suddenly into the tree, and snatching the still screaming insect from its perch, bears it away.”
In captivity, according to Captain Hutton, the large ears of this animal are kept in a constant, rapid, tremulous motion, and the creature emits a low purring sound, which is exchanged for a sharp squeak when it is alarmed or irritated. When it is suspended in a resting attitude the tail and interfemoral membrane are turned up, not in front, as usual in Bats, but behind, upon the lower part of the back. In this species and its allies Captain Hutton further noticed that when they are disturbed “the whole of the facial crests are kept in a state of constant agitation; and as the animal hangs suspended by the feet, the head and muzzle are stretched forth, and turned about in every direction, as if for the purpose of sniffing out the presence of danger, and ascertaining the cause of the disturbance.”[174]
THE PERSIAN TRIDENT BAT.[175]
Under this name Mr. Dobson describes a very remarkable species of this family in which the nasal appendages seem to attain the extreme of complexity (see figure). The ears also are of very peculiar construction. This is a small species, about two and a quarter inches long, and of a pale buff colour, specimens of which were obtained at Shiraz in Persia at an elevation of about 4,750 feet above the sea. Its nearest ally, curiously enough, is to be found, according to Mr. Dobson, in the Australian Orange Bat (Rhinonycteris aurantia).
Frith’s Short-tailed Bat (Cœlops Frithii) is a still more remarkable species, single specimens of which have been obtained from the Sunderbunds and from Java. It is most nearly allied to the Phyllorhinæ, but has the horseshoe part of the nose-leaf composed of two notched pieces, the front lobes of which cover the base of two long hanging leaflets, the tail short, the interfemoral membrane deeply excavated, and the index finger unusually long, and composed chiefly of the metacarpal bone.
FAMILY III.--NYCTERIDÆ.
The development of peculiar nasal appendages for which the Rhinolophidæ are remarkable is still more striking in some species of another family, the members of which were formerly included in the preceding. In these Bats (the Nycteridæ of Mr. Dobson) the ears are enormously developed, membranous, and united either by a portion of their inner margins, or by a transverse band of membrane, the tragus or earlet is greatly developed, and the middle finger contains two phalanges.[176]
The species inhabit the warmer parts of the Old World.
THE LYRE BAT.[177]
The extraordinary development of the ears and of the membranous appendages of the nose is greatest in the species of this genus, which has in consequence been denominated Megaderma, two of which inhabit tropical Asia, whilst two occur only in the warmer parts of Africa.
Of all the species the most abundant and best known is the Lyre Bat (Megaderma lyra, see figure), which is found with but little variation in its characters throughout continental India, from Cashmere to Cape Comorin, and also in the adjacent island of Ceylon. This extraordinary little creature, which measures only about three and a half inches in length, and is of a slaty blue colour, paler beneath, has its ears considerably longer than its head, and united for nearly half the length of their inner margins, and the earlets (tragi) very long, divided at the end into two parts, one of which, the posterior, is pointed, and a good deal longer than the other, which is rounded off at the end. The ears are, in fact, about half the length of the head and body. The nose-leaf starts from a nearly circular base, lying horizontally upon the muzzle, and rises like a sort of strap more than half an inch long, the front surface of which has a projecting ridge running up its middle, and corresponding to a deep groove on the posterior surface. The nostrils are situated in the concavity of the basal disc from which the nose-leaf springs. In this and the other species of Megaderma there are no incisor teeth in the upper jaw (see figure), the intermaxillary bone itself, which ought to bear these teeth, being represented only by a cartilaginous piece, which fills up the space between the canines; and the tail is exceedingly short, and contained in the basal part of the interfemoral membrane, which is large, and has its hinder margin concave, and not pointed as in most Bats.
The great size of the ears and nasal appendages in these Bats has led Europeans in India to give them the name of Vampires, as they agree in these particulars with the true Vampire Bats of South America, and the name is certainly better applied to them than to the frugivorous Pteropidæ, which are sometimes called Vampires even by zoologists. It is, however, a singular fact that in both these groups the extraordinary developments of membrane about the head should be proved to co-exist with more bloodthirsty habits than are common to the Bats generally. It does not indeed appear to be absolutely made out that Megaderma lyra condescends to partake of that insect diet which contents so many of its fellows. As Mr. Dobson remarks, “The very peculiarly-shaped, elongated, narrow muzzle and large trenchant canines, with acutely-pointed basal cusps (see figure) of this and of the other species of Megaderma, the projecting mandible and divided lower lip, so different from all Insectivorous Bats, naturally lead us to suspect corresponding differences in habits.” And he goes on to say that in examining the stomach and intestines of numerous specimens of the present species, he always found them either perfectly empty or filled with a pultaceous matter, in which no remains of insects were to be recognised. Mr. Hodgson, however, found insects in the specimens examined by him. But whether it contemns insects or not, an observation made by the late Mr. Blyth suffices to prove that higher forms of animal life, and indeed its own near relations, are exposed to its attacks. The account given by Mr. Blyth is so interesting that, although rather long, we may give it entire:--
“Chancing one evening,” he says, “to observe a rather large Bat enter an outhouse, from which there was no other egress than by its doorway, I was fortunate in being able to procure a light, and thus to proceed to the capture of the animal. Upon finding itself pursued, it took three or four turns round the apartment, when down dropped what at the moment I supposed to be its young, and which I deposited in my handkerchief. After a somewhat tedious chase, I then secured the object of my pursuit, which proved to be a fine female of Megaderma lyra. I then looked to the other Bat which I had picked up, and, to my considerable surprise, found it to be a small Vespertilio, nearly allied to the Pipistrelle of Europe, which is exceedingly abundant, not only here, but apparently throughout India. The individual now referred to was feeble from loss of blood, which it was evident the Megaderma had been sucking from a large and still bleeding wound under and behind the ear; and the very obviously suctorial form of the mouth of the Vampire was of itself sufficient to hint the strong probability of such being the case. During the very short time that elapsed before I entered the outhouse, it did not appear that the depredator had once alighted; and I am satisfied that it sucked the vital fluid from its victim as it flew, having probably seized it on the wing, and that it was seeking a quiet nook where it might devour the body at its leisure. I kept both animals separate till next morning, when, procuring a convenient cage, I first put in the Megaderma; and after observing it for some time, I placed the other Bat with it. No sooner was the latter perceived than the other fastened upon it with the ferocity of a Tiger, again seizing it behind the ear, and made several efforts to fly off with it; but finding it must needs stay within the precincts of its cage, it soon hung by the hind legs to the wires of its prison, and after sucking its victim till no more blood was left, commenced devouring it, and soon left nothing but the head and some portions of the limbs.”
According to Mr. Jerdon, the Lyre Bat frequents old buildings, pagodas, roofs of houses, and caverns, and is very abundant in the innermost chambers of the cave temples of Ellora and Ajunta. The same writer states that it has been known to eat Frogs and fish; indeed, Mr. Blyth also charges it with a particular fondness for Frogs, and says that on quiet evenings the Bats may be distinctly heard crunching the skulls and smaller bones of their amphibious victims.[178]
The other Oriental species, the Cordate Leaf Bat (Megaderma spasma, see figure), very nearly resembles the preceding, both in colour and in general characters, but the posterior division of the earlet is larger and more acutely pointed, the nose-leaf, although similar, is shorter, and has the sides convex, and its concave basal disc is considerably larger. This species is an inhabitant of the whole Malayan region, of Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Ternate, and the Philippine Islands.
THE AFRICAN MEGADERM.[179]
The best known African species (Megaderma frons) is an inhabitant of the west coast of that continent, where it is found in Senegal and Guinea. In this Bat the ears and nasal appendage (see p. 289) attain even a greater development than in Megaderma lyra; the earlet is very long, especially the posterior division of it; the ears are united by their inner margin for about half their length; and the fur is of an ashy colour, with a faint yellowish tinge. A second African Megaderma has been described by Professor Peters under the name of Megaderma cor; it is from Egypt, and somewhat resembles M. spasma in the form of its nose-leaf, but in other respects is more nearly related to M. frons.
THE DESERT BAT.[180]
At the first glance, the Desert Bat would seem to have but little to do with the Megaderms, but its general organisation is very similar. The nose-leaf--the striking characteristic of the head in the Megaderms--is entirely wanting, unless indeed we may, with Professor Gervais, regard the groove which runs up the face from the nose to the forehead as really representing a sunken nose-leaf. This groove, or furrow, is a deep depression, increasing both in width and depth as it runs backwards, and is of such extent as to leave traces of its existence even on the underlying bones. In its posterior part the floor of the depression is divided lengthwise by a narrow ridge, and its sides are margined, as far back as the eyes, with peculiar horizontal cutaneous appendages. It is thus, evidently, a somewhat different manifestation of the tendency towards a peculiar development of the cutaneous system in the neighbourhood of the nose which we have seen to be characteristic of the Rhinolophidæ and Megaderms, and no doubt subserves the same purpose in the economy of the animal as the external nasal appendages of those Bats.
The ears are large, and united across the forehead by a sort of membranous band; the tail is long, and contained within the interfemoral membrane; and the intermaxillary bones are present, and bear four incisor teeth. In the lower jaw there are six incisors. The canines, as in Megaderma, are large and powerful; there is a single pre-molar on each side in the upper, and two in the lower jaw, and the true molars are three on each side in both jaws.
These characters are common to all the species of the genus Nycteris, most of which are inhabitants of the continent of Africa. The Desert Bat (N. thebaica) is found in the desert regions of Egypt and Abyssinia, and receives its name from its occurrence in the Thebaid, that desert the caves of which gave shelter to so many hermits in early Christian times. It is a small Bat, the length of its head and body being about two and a half inches. Its ears are longer than the head, and the tail is about as long as the body, and enclosed within an ample interfemoral membrane, which is stretched on each side by a long heel-spur. The fur is of a grey colour.[181]
These Bats possess an exceedingly curious faculty, namely, the power of inflating the skin with air. The skin adheres to the body only at certain points, where it is connected by a loose areolar tissue, and the spaces thus left can be filled with air at the pleasure of the animal, through the large cheek-pouches, which have an opening at the bottom, and thus communicate with the spaces under the loose skin. When the animal chooses to inflate its skin it fills its lungs with air, and then, closing the mouth and nostrils, and contracting the chest, forces the air through the openings in the cheek-pouches under the skin. Its return is prevented by sphincter muscles, with which the above-mentioned apertures are provided, and also by large valves on the neck and back. By this means the Bat has the power of inflating its skin to such an extent as to resemble, according to Geoffroy, “a balloon with wings, a head, and feet attached to it.” Geoffroy compares this condition of things with that of the fish of the genus Tetraodon, which also have the power of inflating their skins with air, but adds that “more fortunate than the Tetraodon, which can only return to its original condition by becoming a mere inert mass on the surface of the water, the Bat preserves all its faculties, or, what is better, increases their energy by becoming lighter and capable of more rapidity in flight.” This supposed advantage is at least questionable.