volitant (volitant)

[L. volitan ( t- ) s, ppr. of vol it are, fly to and fro, freq. of volare, fly: see volant.] Flying; having the power of flight; volant: as, the bat is a volitant quadruped. Volitant i at (vol-i-tan's hi-ä), n. pl. [NL., neut. pl. of volitan (t-)s, flying: see volitant.] In Illiger's cla ification of mammals (1811), the eleventh order, containing flying quadrupeds in two families, Derm opter a and Chiropter a, or Volitant i a the so-called flying-lemurs and the bats-thus an artificial group, now abolished.