Vespertilionidæ (vesper til i on ide)

pl. [NL., other Gymnorhina, from the Histiophora, or leaf-nosed section, by the absence of any nasal appendage, and from the true blood-sucking bats by the character of the dentition and digestive organs, and from other Gymnorhina by having the tail inclosed in an ample interfemoral membrane, and special characters of the teeth and skull. The nearest relationships are with the molo oid bats ( Molos sidæ and Noctilio nide ). The family contains numerous genera, as Vespertilio, Synotus, Plecotus, Atalapha, An trozous, Nycticejus, Lasiurus, etc., and about 150 species (or more than one third of the whole order Chiropter a ) of small bats of most parts of the world. Some of these are also very rich in individuals, and among the best-known representatives of the whole order. The family is primarily divided into two subfamilies, Vesper til i on inæ and Nycticejinæ. See cut under Synotus.