Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 1 (1897).djvu/572

538 not good, so I was obliged to resort to more favourable conditions in order to obtain the result here portrayed. On both occasions the bats were hibernating, but awoke on the slightest provocation; and when removed from the cave became very active and readily took to wing. On April 12th, at 1.30 p.m., the temperature of the Cefn cave, about twenty yards from the entrance, was 9° C, just 1·25° C. colder than the shade temperature outside.

I placed my captives in a well-ventilated cage in a suitable atmosphere, but the frail little creatures died in a few days. When sleeping they cling most tenaciously to the rock, and the feet are placed somewhat closely together, rarely are they widely separated; but I noticed one example hanging for a long time with its legs completely crossed. With the exception of the upper portion of the head with the tips of the ears and a narrow dorsal space, the animal is completely enshrouded in its wings. Sometimes the head is also covered, but the space between the fore arms is always exposed. The fingers bend suddenly inwards at the joints, and all meet on the ventral parts of the body, where they, together with the membrane, form an irregular pentagon. The anomalous position of the tail is noteworthy; it is reflexed over the back with its accompanying membrane closely overlapping the wrinkled membrane of the legs, thus forming a deep narrow trough: an excellent apparatus to carry off any drops of water that might fall upon it from the roof of its habitat. Viewed in profile, the animal bears a remarkable resemblance to the pupa of a butterfly, and is altogether a most interesting little creature to study.

An examination of their rejectamenta showed that they had been feeding, almost exclusively, upon the smaller species of Lepidoptera; there were fragments of other insects, but I failed to ascertain the order to which they belonged. A great deal remains to be done with the structural details of this species, but other pressing matters prevent my adding further to this communication.