This monkey is one over which many naturalists have argued; it is synonymous with Macacus speciosus, M. maurus, M. melanotus, and was thought to be with M. brunneus till Dr. Anderson placed the latter in a separate species on account of the non-annulation of its hair. It is essentially a denizen of the hills; it has been obtained in Cachar and in Upper Assam. Dr. Anderson got it in the Kakhyen Hills on the frontier of Yunnan, beyond which, he says, it spreads to the southeast to Cochin-China.

NO. 23. INUUS vel MACACUS THIBETANUS. The Thibetan Stump-tailed Monkey.

DESCRIPTION.—Head large and whiskered; form robust; tail stumpy and clad; general colour of the animal brown; whiskers greyish; face nude and flesh-coloured, with a deep crimson flush round the eyes.

SIZE.—Two feet 9 inches; tail about 3 inches.

This large monkey, though not belonging to British India, inhabiting, it is said, "the coldest and least accessible forests of Eastern Thibet," is mentioned here, as the exploration of that country by travellers from India is attracting attention.

GENUS MACACUS.

Tail longer than in Inuus, and face not so lengthened; otherwise as in that genus.—Jerdon.

NO. 24. MACACUS RADIATUS. The Madras Monkey (Jerdon's No. 9).

NATIVE NAMES.—Bandar, Hindi; Makadu or Wanur, Mahratti; Kerda mahr of the Ghats; Munga, Canarese; Koti, Telegu; Vella munthi, Malabar.

HABITAT.—All over the southern parts of India, as far north as lat. 18 degrees.

[Figure: Macacus radiatus and Macacus pileatus.]

DESCRIPTION.—Of a dusky olive brown, paler and whitish underneath, ashy on outer sides of limbs; tail dusky brown above, whitish beneath; hairs on the crown of the head radiated.

SIZE.—Twenty inches; tail 15 inches.

Elliott remarks of this monkey that it inhabits not only the wildest jungles, but the most populous towns, and it is noted for its audacity in stealing fruit and grain from shops. Jerdon says: "It is the monkey most commonly found in menageries, and led about to show various tricks and feats of agility. It is certainly the most inquisitive and mischievous of its tribe, and its powers of mimicry are surpassed by none." It may be taught to turn a wheel regularly; it smokes tobacco without inconvenience.—Horsfield.

NO. 25. MACACUS PILEATUS (vel SINICUS, Lin.). The Capped Monkey, or Bonneted Macaque of Cuvier.

NATIVE NAME.—Rilawa, Singhalese.

HABITAT.—Ceylon and China.

DESCRIPTION.—Yellowish brown, with a slight shade of green in old specimens; in some the back is light chestnut brown; yellowish brown hairs on the crown of the head, radiating from the centre to the circumference; face flesh-coloured and beardless; ears, palms, soles, fingers, and toes blackish; irides reddish brown; callosities flesh-coloured; tail longish, terminating in short tuft.—Kellaart.

SIZE.—Head and body about 20 inches; tail 18 inches.

This is the Macacus sinicus of Cuvier, and is very similar to the last species. In Ceylon it takes the place of our rhesus monkey with the conjurors, who, according to Sir Emerson Tennent, "teach it to dance, and in their wanderings carry it from village to village, clad in a grotesque dress, to exhibit its lively performances." It also, like the last, smokes tobacco; and one that belonged to the captain of a tug steamer, in which I once went down from Calcutta to the Sandheads, not only smoked, but chewed tobacco. Kellaart says of it: "This monkey is a lively, spirited animal, but easily tamed; particularly fond of making grimaces, with which it invariably welcomes its master and friends. It is truly astonishing to see the large quantity of food it will cram down its cheek pouches for future mastication."

NO. 26. MACACUS CYNOMOLGUS. The Crab-eating Macaque.

NATIVE NAME.—Kra, Malay.

HABITAT.—Tenasserim, Nicobars, Malay Archipelago.

[Figure: Macacus cynomolgus.]

DESCRIPTION.—"The leading features of this animal are its massive form, its large head closely set on the shoulders, its stout and rather short legs, its slender loins and heavy buttocks, its tail thick at the base" (Anderson). The general colour is similar to that of the Bengal rhesus monkey, but the skin of the chest and belly is bluish, the face livid, with a white area between the eyes and white eyelids. Hands and feet blackish.

SIZE.—About that of the Bengal rhesus.

According to Captain (now Sir Arthur) Phayre "these monkeys frequent the banks of salt-water creeks and devour shell-fish. In the cheek-pouch of the female were found the claws and body of a crab. There is not much on record concerning the habits of this monkey in its wild state beyond what is stated concerning its partiality for crabs, which can also, I believe, be said of the rhesus in the Bengal Sunderbunds."

NO. 27. MACACUS CARBONARIUS. The Black-faced Crab-eating Monkey.

HABITAT.—Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.—In all respects the same as the last, except that its face is blackish, with conspicuously white eyelids.

FAMILY LEMURIDAE.

The Indian members of this family belong to the sub-family named by Geoffroy Nycticebinae.

GENUS NYCTICEBUS.

NO. 28. NYCTICEBUS TARDIGRADUS. The Slow-paced Lemur (Jerdon's No. 10).

NATIVE NAME.—Sharmindi billi, Hindi.

HABITAT.—Eastern Bengal, Assam, Garo Hills, Sylhet, Arracan.—Horsfield.

[Figure: Loris gracilis and Nycticebus tardigradus.]

DESCRIPTION.—Dark ashy grey, with a darker band down middle of back, beneath lighter grey; forehead in some dark, with a narrow white stripe between the eyes, disappearing above them; ears and round the eye dark; tail very short.—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Length about 14 to 15 inches; tail 5/8 of an inch.

Nocturnal in its habits; sleeping during the day in holes of trees, and coming out to feed at night. Sir William Jones describes one kept by him for some time; it appeared to have been gentle, though at times petulant when disturbed; susceptible of cold; slept from sunrise to sunset rolled up like a hedgehog. Its food was chiefly plantains, and mangoes when in season. Peaches, mulberries, and guavas, it did not so much care for, but it was most eager after grasshoppers, which it devoured voraciously. It was very particular in the performance of its toilet, cleaning and licking its fur. Cuvier also notices this last peculiarity, and with regard to its diet says it eats small birds as well as insects. These animals are occasionally to be bought in the Calcutta market. A friend of mine had a pair which were a source of great amusement to his guests after dinner. (See Appendix C, p.526.)

GENUS LORIS.

Body and limbs slender; no tail; eyes very large, almost contiguous; nose acute.

NO. 29. LORIS GRACILIS. The Slender Lemur (Jerdon's No. 11).

NATIVE NAMES.—Tevangar, Tamil; Dewantsipilli, Telegu. (Oona happslava, Singhalese.—Kellaart.)

HABITAT.—Southern India and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—Above greyish rufescent (tawny snuff brown: Kellaart); beneath a paler shade; a white triangular spot on forehead, extending down the nose; fur short, dense, and soft; ears thin, rounded (Jerdon). A hooped claw on inner toes; nails of other toes flat; posterior third of palms and soles hairy (Kellaart).

SIZE.—About 8 inches; arm, 5; leg, 5-1/2.

This, like the last, is also nocturnal in its habits, and from the extreme slowness of its movements is called in Ceylon "the Ceylon sloth." Its diet is varied—fruit, flower, and leaf buds, insects, eggs, and young birds. Sir Emerson Tennent says the Singhalese assert that it has been known to strangle pea-fowl at night and feast on the brain, but this I doubt. Smaller birds it might overcome. Jerdon states that in confinement it will eat boiled rice, plantains, honey or syrup and raw meat. McMaster, at page 6 of his 'Notes on Jerdon,' gives an interesting extract from an old account of 'Dr. John Fryer's Voyage to East India and Bombain,' in which he describes this little animal as "Men of the Woods, or more truly Satyrs;" asleep during the day; but at "Night they Sport and Eat." "They had Heads like an owl. Bodied like a monkey without Tails. Only the first finger of the Right Hand was armed with a claw like a bird, otherwise they had hands and feet which they walk upright on, not pronely, as other Beasts do."

These little creatures double themselves up when they sleep, bending the head down between their legs. Although so sluggish generally, Jerdon says they can move with considerable agility when they choose.

SUB-ORDER PLEUROPTERA.—FAMILY GALAEOPITHECIDAE.

There is a curious link between the Lemurs and the Bats in the Colugos. (Galaeopithecus): their limbs are connected with a membrane as in the Flying Squirrels, by which they can leap and float for a hundred yards on an inclined plane. They are mild, inoffensive animals, subsisting on fruits and leaves. Cuvier places them after the Bats, but they seem properly to link the Lemurs and the frugivorous Bats. As yet they have not been found in India proper, but are common in the Malayan Peninsula, and have been found in Burmah.

NO. 30. GALAEOPITHECUS VOLANS. The Flying Lemur.

NATIVE NAME.—Myook-hloung-pyan, Burmese.

HABITAT.—Mergui; the Malayan Peninsula.

[Figure: Galaeopithecus volans.]

DESCRIPTION.—Fur olive brown, mottled with irregular whitish spots and blotches; the pile is short, but exquisitely soft; head and brain very small; tail long and prehensile. The membrane is continued from each side of the neck to the fore feet; thence to the hind feet, again to the tip of the tail. This animal is also nocturnal in its habits, and very sluggish in its motions by day, at which time it usually hangs from a branch suspended by its fore hands, its mottled back assimilating closely with the rugged bark of the tree; it is exclusively herbivorous, possessing a very voluminous stomach, and long convoluted intestines. Wallace says of it, that its brain is very small, and it possesses such tenacity of life that it is very difficult to kill; he adds that it is said to have only one at a birth, and one he shot had a very small blind naked little creature clinging closely to its breast, which was quite bare and much wrinkled. Raffles, however, gives two as the number produced at each birth. Dr. Cantor says that in confinement plantains constitute the favourite food, but deprived of liberty it soon dies. In its wild state it "lives entirely on young fruits and leaves; those of the cocoanut and Bombax pentandrum are its favourite food, and it commits great injury to the plantations of these."—Horsfield's 'Cat. Mam.' Regarding its powers of flight, Wallace, in his 'Travels in the Malay Archipelago,' says: "I saw one of these animals run up a tree in a rather open space, and then glide obliquely through the air to another tree on which it alighted near its base, and immediately began to ascend. I paced the distance from one tree to the other, and found it to be seventy yards, and the amount of descent not more than thirty-five or forty feet, or less than one in five. This, I think, proves that the animal must have some power of guiding itself through the air, otherwise in so long a distance it would have little chance of alighting exactly upon the trunk."

There is a carefully prepared skeleton of this animal in the Indian Museum in Calcutta.



ORDER CARNARIA.

CHEIROPTERA.

It may seem strange to many that such an insignificant, weird little creature as a bat should rank so high in the animal kingdom as to be but a few removes from man. It has, however, some striking anatomical affinities with the last Order, Quadrumana, sufficient to justify its being placed in the next link of the great chain of creation.

[Figure: Sternum of Pteropus.]

"Bats have the arms, fore-arms and fingers excessively elongated, so as to form with the membrane that occupies their intervals, real wings, the surface of which is equally or more extended than in those of birds. Hence they fly high and with great rapidity."—Cuvier. They suckle their young at the breast, but some of them have pubic warts resembling mammae. The muscles of the chest are developed in proportion, and the sternum has a medial ridge something like that of a bird. They are all nocturnal, with small eyes (except in the case of the frugivorous bats), large ears, and in some cases membranous appendages to the nostrils, which may possibly be for the purpose of guiding themselves in the dark, for it is proved by experiment that bats are not dependent on eyesight for guidance, and one naturalist has remarked that, in a certain species of bat which has no facial membrane, this delicacy of perception was absent. I have noticed this in one species, Cynopterus marginatus, one of which flew into my room not long ago, and which repeatedly dashed itself against a glass door in its efforts to escape. I had all the other doors closed.

Bats are mostly insectivorous; a few are fruit-eaters, such as our common flying-fox. They produce from one to two at a birth, which are carried about by the mother and suckled at the breast, this peculiarity being one of the anatomical details alluded to as claiming for the bats so high a place.

Bats are divided into four sub-families—Pteropodidae, Vampyridae, Noctilionidae, and Vespertilionidae.

MEGACHIROPTERA.

SUB-FAMILY PTEROPODIDAE.

GENUS PTEROPUS.

These are frugivorous bats of large size, differing, as remarked by Jerdon, so much in their dentition from the insectivorous species that they seem to lead through the flying Lemurs (Colugos) directly to the Quadrumana. The dentition is more adapted to their diet; they have cutting incisors to each jaw, and grinders with flat crowns, and their intestines are longer than those of the insectivorous bats. They produce but one at birth, and the young ones leave their parents as soon as they can provide for themselves. The tongue is covered with rough papillae. They have no tail. These bats and some of the following genus, which are also frugivorous, are distinguished from the rest of the bats by a claw on the first or index finger, which is short.

Dental formula: Inc., 4/4; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/3—3; molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 31. PTEROPUS EDWARDSII vel MEDIUS. The Common Flying Fox (Jerdon's No. 12).

NATIVE NAMES.—Badul, Bengali and Mahratti; Wurbagul, Hindi; Toggul bawali, Canarese; Sikurayi, Telegu.

HABITAT.—All through India, Ceylon, and Burmah.

[Figure: The Flying Fox at Home.]

DESCRIPTION.—Head and nape rufous black; neck and shoulders golden yellow (the hair longer); back dark brown; chin dark; rest of body beneath fulvous or rusty brown; interfemoral membrane brownish black.—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Length, 12 to 14 inches; extent of wings, 46 to 52 inches.

These bats roost on trees in vast numbers. I have generally found them to prefer tamarinds of large size. Some idea of the extent of these colonies may be gathered from observations by McMaster, who attempted to calculate the number in a colony. He says: "In five minutes a friend and I counted upwards of six hundred as they passed over head, en route to their feeding grounds; supposing their nightly exodus to continue for twenty minutes, this would give upwards of two thousand in one roosting place, exclusive of those who took a different direction."

[Figure: Head of Pteropus medius.]

Tickell's account of these colonies is most graphic, though Emerson Tennent has also given a most interesting and correct account of their habits. The former writes:—"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." For faithful portraying, no one could improve on this description. These bats are exceeding strong on the wing. I was aware that they went long distances in search of food, but I was not aware of the power they had for sustained flight till the year 1869, when, on my way to England on furlough, I discovered a large flying fox winging his way towards our vessel, which was at that time more than two hundred miles from land. Exhausted, it clung on to the fore-yard arm; and a present of a rupee induced a Lascar to go aloft and seize it, which he did after several attempts. The voracity with which it attacked some plantains showed that it had been for some time deprived of food, probably having been blown off shore by high winds. Hanging head-downwards from its cage, it stuffed the fruit into its cheeks, monkey-fashion, and then seemed to chew it at leisure. When I left the steamer at Suez it remained in the captain's possession, and seemed to be tame and reconciled to its imprisonment, tempered by a surfeit of plantains. In flying over water they frequently dip down to touch the surface. Jerdon was in doubt whether they did this to drink or not, but McMaster feels sure that they do this in order to drink, and that the habit is not peculiar to the Pteropodidae, as he has noticed other bats doing the same. Colonel Sykes states that he "can personally testify that their flesh is delicate and without disagreeable flavour;" and another colonel of my acquaintance once regaled his friends on some flying fox cutlets, which were pronounced "not bad." Dr. Day accuses these bats of intemperate habits; drinking the toddy from the earthen pots on the cocoanut trees, and flying home intoxicated. The wild almond is a favourite fruit.

Mr. Rainey, who has been a careful observer of animals for years, states that in Bengal these bats prefer clumps of bamboos for a resting place, and feed much on the fruit of the betel-nut palm when ripe. Another naturalist, Mr. G. Vidal, writes that in Southern India the P. medius feeds chiefly on the green drupe or nut of the Alexandrian laurel (Calophyllum inophyllum), the kernels of which contain a strong-smelling green oil on which the bats fatten amazingly; and then they in turn yield, when boiled down, an oil which is recommended as an excellent stimulative application for the hair. I noticed in Seonee a curious superstition to the effect that a bone of this bat tied on to the ankle by a cord of black cowhair is a sovereign remedy, according to the natives, for rheumatism in the leg. Tickell states that these bats produce one at a time in March or April, and they continue a fixture on the mother till the end of May or beginning of June.

NO. 32. PTEROPUS LESCHENAULTII (CYNONYCTERIS AMPLEXICAUDATA). The Fulvous Fox-Bat (Jerdon's No. 13).

Dobson places this bat in the sub-group Cynonycteris. It seems to differ from Pteropus only, as far as I can see, in having a small distinct tail, though the above-quoted author considers it closely allied to the next genus.

HABITAT.—The Carnatic, Madras and Trichinopoly; stated also procurable at Calcutta and Pondicherry (Jerdon); Ceylon (Kellaart).

DESCRIPTION.—Fur short and downy; fulvous ashy, or dull light ashy brown colour, denser and paler beneath; the hairs whitish at the base; membranes dark brown.

SIZE.—Length, 5 to 5-1/2 inches; extent of wing, 18 to 20 inches.

More information is required regarding the habits of this bat.

GENUS CYNOPTERUS.

This genus has four molars less than the last, a shorter muzzle; the cheek-bones or zygomatic arch more projecting; tongue rather longer and more tapering, and slightly extensile.

Dental formula: Inc., 4/4 or 4/2; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/3—3; molars, 2—2/2—2.

NO. 33. CYNOPTERUS MARGINATUS. The Small Fox-Bat (Jerdon's No. 14).

NATIVE NAME.—Chamgadili, Hindi; Coteekan voulha, Singhalese.

HABITAT.—India generally, and Ceylon.

[Figure: Cynopterus marginatus.]

DESCRIPTION.—General colour fulvous olivaceous, paler beneath and with an ashy tinge; ears with a narrow margin of white (Jerdon.) A reddish smear on neck and shoulders of most specimens; membranes dusky brown. Females paler (Kellaart).

SIZE.—Length, 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 inches; extent of wing, 17 to 20 inches.

This bat is found all over India; it is frugivorous exclusively, though some of this sub-order are insectivorous. Blyth says he kept some for several weeks; they would take no notice of the buzz of an insect held to them, but are ravenous eaters of fruit, each devouring its own weight at a meal, voiding its food but little changed whilst slowly munching away; of guava it swallows the juice only. Blyth's prisoners were females, and after a time they attracted a male which hovered about them for some days, roosting near them in a dark staircase; he was also caught, with one of the females who had escaped and joined him. Dr. Dobson writes that in three hours one of these bats devoured twice its own weight. This species usually roosts in trees.

NO. 34. MACROGLOSSUS (PTEROPUS) MINIMUS. The Tenasserim Fox-Bat.

NATIVE NAME.—Lowo-assu (dog-bat), Javanese.

HABITAT.—The Himalayas, Burmah, Tenasserim, and the Indian Archipelago.

DESCRIPTION.—Ears half length of head, narrow and rounded at tip; face abruptly narrowed in front of eyes; muzzle long, narrow, cylindrical; lower jaw slightly projecting; eyes large; tongue very long, last third attenuated, covered with brush-like papillae; interfemoral membrane very narrow, especially at root of tail; fur reddish brown, and very long.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-3/10 inches.

Like other Pteropi this bat feeds on fruit of every description, but particularly attacks the various cultivated varieties of Eugenia (Jamoon).

GENUS EONYCTERIS.

Muzzle long and cylindrical; nostrils scarcely projecting; upper lip with a shallow vertical groove in front; index finger without a claw; thumb short; part of the terminal phalanx included in the wing membrane; metacarpal bone of the second finger equal to the index finger in length; tail short and distinct; the base contained in the narrow interfemoral membrane; tongue long, as in Macroglossus.

Dentition: Inc., 4/4; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/2—2; molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 35. EONYCTERIS SPELAEA.

HABITAT.—Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.—Head long; muzzle narrow, cylindrical, abruptly narrowed in front of the eyes; nostrils with an intervening emargination, which also passes down to the lips; tongue very long and pointed; ears conical, with rounded tips; body clothed with very short and thinly-spread fur of a uniform dark brown colour; the fur on the head extends only as far as the inner corners of the eye, leaving the rest of the face naked; tail half an inch. On each side, and a little behind the anal opening, are two small, kidney-shaped subcutaneous glandular bodies.

SIZE.—Head and body, 4 inches; tail, 1/2 inch.

Found in Farm Caves, Moulmein. The absence of the claw on the index finger is specially to be noted.

MICROCHIROPTERA.

SUB-FAMILY VAMPYRIDAE.

GENUS MEGADERMA.

Bats with simple or complicated nose-leaves or membranes. The conch of the ear very large, and joined together on the top of the head; tragus large and bifurcated; nasal membranes complicated; no tail; wings remarkably ample. They have four incisors below but none above, the intermaxillaries remaining cartilaginous.

Dental formula: Inc., 0/4; can., 1—1/1—1; pre-m., 2—2/2—2; molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 36. MEGADERMA LYRA. The Large-eared Vampire Bat (Jerdon's No. 15).

HABITAT.—India and Ceylon.

[Figure: Megaderma lyra.]

DESCRIPTION.—Above ashy blue, slaty or pale mouse colour; albescent or yellowish ashy beneath; nasal appendage large, oblong, free at the tip, reaching to the base of the ears with a fold down the centre; tragus (oreillon) cordate, two-lobed, anterior long, narrow and pointed, posterior lobe half the height and rounded; muzzle truncated; under-lip cleft; wing membranes dark brown.

SIZE.—Head and body, 3 or 3-1/2 inches; wing extent, 14 to 19 inches.

Very abundant in old buildings. They are beyond doubt blood-suckers. Blyth noticed one fly into his room one evening with a small vespertilio, which it dropped on being chased. The smaller bat was weak from loss of blood, and next morning (the Megaderm having been caught), on both bats being put into the same cage, the little one was again attacked and devoured; it was seized both times behind the ear. McMaster writes that in Rangoon he had a tame canary killed by a bat, and the bird's mate soon afterwards was destroyed in the same way. The case was clearly proved.

Mr. Frith informed Mr. Blyth that these bats were in the habit of resorting to the verandah of his house at Mymensing, 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 be their chief diet—never toads; and of a quiet evening these animals could be distinctly heard crunching the heads and smaller bones of their victims.

NO. 37. MEGADERMA SPECTRUM. The Cashmere Vampire (Jerdon's No. 16).

HABITAT.—Cashmere.

DESCRIPTION.—Above slaty cinereous, whitish beneath; the vertical nose-leaf of moderate size, oval; inner lobe of tragus ovate (Jerdon).

SIZE.—Two and three-quarter inches.

Dobson makes this bat synonymous with the last.

NO. 38. MEGADERMA SPASMA.

HABITAT.—Tenasserim, Ceylon.

[Figure: Megaderma spasma.]

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle, ear-conch, and tragus similar to those of M. lyra; the posterior portion of the tragus, however, is longer and more attenuated upwards, and more acutely pointed; the nose-leaf is shorter, with convex sides; but the anterior concave disc is considerably larger, and the base of the thickened process is cordate; thumbs and wings as in M. lyra; interfemoral membrane deeper; the calcaneum stronger; colour the same.

SIZE.—Head and body, about 3 inches. This bat is alluded to by Jerdon as M. Horsfieldii.

RHINOLOPHINAE.

Nasal leaf complicated, and crests resting on the forehead, presenting more or less the figure of a horse-shoe; tail long and placed in the interfemoral membrane; ears large, but separate, and not joined at the base, as in the last genus; without a tragus, but often with a lobe at the base of the outer margin; wings large and long; forefinger of a single joint.

GENUS RHINOLOPHUS.

Nose-leaf cordate, or semi-orbicular, bi-lobed in front of the nostrils; a longitudinal crest along the nose and an erect frontal leaf posteriorly more or less lanceolate.—Jerdon.

Dental formula: Inc., 2/4; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/2—2; molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 39. RHINOLOPHUS PERNIGER vel LUCTUS. The Large Leaf-Bat (Jerdon's No. 17).

HABITAT.—Nepaul, Darjeeling, Khasya Hills.

[Figure: Rhinolophus luctus.]

DESCRIPTION.—Ears very large, much longer than the head; broad, acutely pointed; nasal apparatus very complicated; the lower leaf very large, concealing the upper lip like a door knocker; the upper leaf like a graduated spire; ears transversely striate; a rather large semi-circular lobe at base of ear; fur long, dense, soft, and lax, slightly curled or woolly black with a silvery grizzle, or greyish-black or rich chestnut-brown.—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Length, 3-3/4; tail, 1-3/4; wing expanse, 17 inches.

NO. 40. RHINOLOPHUS MITRATUS. The Mitred Leaf-Bat (Jerdon's No. 18).

HABITAT.—Chybassa, Central India, Mussoorie(?)

DESCRIPTION.—Ears large; anti-helix moderately developed; upper leaf triangular acute; tail extending beyond the tibia; color above light brown; paler beneath.—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-1/2 inches; tail, 1-1/2 inch; wing expanse, 12 to 14 inches.

NO. 41. RHINOLOPHUS TRAGATUS vel FERRUM-EQUINUM. The Dark-brown Leaf-Bat (Jerdon's No. 19).

HABITAT.—Nepaul, Mussoorie.

[Figure: Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum.]

DESCRIPTION.—Upper process like a barbed spear-head; central one small and narrow, a little expanded at the summit; anti-tragus less developed than usual; lips simple; colour a uniform deep brown, with tips of the hair paler, and somewhat rusty.—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-5/8 inches; tail, 1-7/8 inch; wing, 15-1/2 inches.

The tail of this species seems unusually long. It is found in cavities of rock, and issues forth soon after dusk—sooner, according to Hodgson, than the species of vespertilio.

NO. 42. RHINOLOPHUS PEARSONII. Pearson's Leaf-Bat (Jerdon's No. 20).

HABITAT.—Lower Himalayan range, Darjeeling, Mussoorie, &c.

DESCRIPTION.—Colour above dark brown, with a slight shade of chestnut; underneath brown, with a sooty cast; fur very long, dense and soft; ears distinct, with an additional rounded lobe below, measuring anteriorly nearly three-fourths of an inch; point of the facial crest moderately developed; length from the tip of the nose to root of tail three inches; tail half an inch; length of fore-arm two inches; expanse of the wings eleven inches. Although allied to Mr. Hodgson's R. tragatus, possesses distinct characters.—Horsfield.

SIZE.—As given by Horsfield above.

This bat was first sent from Darjeeling by Mr. J. T. Pearson, and was named after him. It has also, according to Jerdon, been found by Captain Hutton at Mussoorie; it is therefore reasonable to suppose that it inhabits the whole range of the lower Himalayas. One striking difference between it and the last species is the very short tail, and it is easily to be recognised by the great length of the fur.

NO. 43. RHINOLOPHUS AFFINIS. The Allied Leaf-Bat (Jerdon's No. 21).

HABITAT.—Ceylon, Burmah, and perhaps the Malabar coast.

DESCRIPTION.—Above bright red ferruginous brown; tips of hair darker, paler beneath; ears pointed and external; edge deeply emarginated; internal edge and basal third of external surface hairy; anti-helix well developed; nasal process apparently very similar to that of R. mitratus (Kellaart). Upper leaf triangular, emarginate at the tip, reaching above the base of the ears (Jerdon).

SIZE.—Head and body about 2-3/10 inches; tail, 1 inch; wing extent, 12 inches.

This bat seems to vary much in colour. Kellaart says some are of a brighter red than others, and a few had a yellower tinge. Another marked variety was of a uniform pale yellow brown.

NO. 44. RHINOLOPHUS ROUXI. The Rufous Leaf-Bat (Jerdon's No. 22).

HABITAT.—India generally.

DESCRIPTION.—Ears large, pointed, externally notched; tragus broad; tips of upper nose-leaf triangular, with its sides well emarginate, reaching above the base of the ears; no upper incisors [as in Megaderma lyra]; lower molars only five; canines very large; fur short, crisp; colour above smoky brown in some, reddish brown in others, and golden rufous in some; beneath paler.—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Length, 2-3/8 inches; tail, 1-1/8; wing expanse, 13 inches.

Hodgson considers this bat as allied to the two following species. It is the R. lepidus of Blyth.

NO. 45. RHINOLOPHUS MACROTIS. The Large-eared Leaf-Bat (Jerdon's No. 23).

HABITAT.—Lower Himalayas.

DESCRIPTION.—Ears very large, broad, oval, with pointed recurved tip, and a large obtuse tragus; anterior central crest of nose-leaf produced in front over the top of the flat transverse front edge; hinder leaf lanceolate triangular; above sooty brown or light earthy olive-brown, paler below, some with a rufous or Isabelline tint; no pubic teats.—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1-3/4 inch; tail, 3/4; wing expanse, 9-3/4.

NO. 46. RHINOLOPHUS SUB-BADIUS. The Bay Leaf-Bat (Jerdon's No. 24).

HABITAT.—Nepaul.

DESCRIPTION.—Ears not larger than the head, obtusely pointed and ovoid; nasal appendage quadrate, with a transverse bar nearly surmounting it; upper leaf triangular, with slightly emarginate sides; clear brown above, paler below and on head and face.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1-1/2 inch; tail, 1-1/4; wing expanse, 7-1/2.—Jerdon.

NO. 47. RHINOLOPHUS RAMMANIKA (Kellaart).

HABITAT.—Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—Above rufescent, beneath ashy brown; face slightly fulvous; round the base of the ears and on the sides of the posterior half of the body bright fulvous; tail enclosed in the interfemoral membrane.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-1/2 inches; tail, 1; wing expanse, 10 inches.

This is a doubtful species. Dr. Kellaart got one from Amanapoora hill at Kaduganava. He says: "As the specimen reached us in a dried condition, we are unable to say anything more about its nasal processes than that in place of a transverse process above the nostrils it had a small triangular peak over the usual horse-shoe process surrounding the nasal opening. This triangular crest was hairy; superiorly there was no appearance of a sac above it to the best of our recollection."

NO. 48. RHINOLOPHUS ANDAMANENSIS.

HABITAT.—Southern Andaman Island.

DESCRIPTION (apud Dobson).—Like R. affinis generally, but the anterior horizontal horse-shoe shaped membrane is very broad, completely concealing the muzzle when viewed from above, as in R. Pearsonii; the posterior terminal leaf is also much longer, produced backwards between the ears, and not concave on the sides as in R. affinis. The thumb is also much longer. Fur bright reddish brown above and beneath.

NO. 49. RHINOLOPHUS MINOR.

HABITAT.—Burmah, Yunan.

DESCRIPTION.—Light brown above, greyish brown beneath; ears slightly shorter than the head, sub-acutely pointed; anti-tragus large, separated by a deep angular notch; lower lip with three vertical grooves.

SIZE.—Length of head and body from 1 to 1-3/4 inch.

NO. 50. RHINOLOPHUS COELOPHYLLUS.

HABITAT.—Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.—Fur brown, with whitish roots, light brownish white below; ears large, with pointed tips projecting outwards; "anti-tragus large, separated by an angular emargination from the outer margin of the ear; horse-shoe large; horizontal margins of central nose-leaf triangular, small; erect portion rather short, with parallel sides and rounded summit, meeting the connected vertical process at the same level" (Dobson). For a more detailed description see Dobson's Monograph, page 53. Three vertical grooves on lower lip.

SIZE.—Length of head and body about 2 inches.

NO. 51. RHINOLOPHUS GAROENSIS.

HABITAT.—Garo Hills, Assam; Himalayas (Mussoorie).

DESCRIPTION (apud Dobson).—Ears acutely pointed, with a large anti-tragus, as in R. affinis; anterior vertical process of the sella maintaining the same breadth upwards and rounded off above, considerably exceeded in height by the upper edge of the connecting process, which develops a long acutely pointed projection; terminal portion of the posterior leaf broad with straight sides, forming an almost equilateral triangle.

Wing membrane from the ankles, inter femoral membrane square behind; extreme tip of the tail free.

SIZE.—Length of head and body about 1.5 inch.

This bat is figured (head only) in Dobson's Monograph, page 48.

NO. 52. RHINOLOPHUS PETERSII.

HABITAT.—India. Precise locality unknown.

DESCRIPTION.—Ears acutely pointed, with an emargination immediately beneath the tip; anti-tragus large, separated from the outer margin by a deep angular incision; nose-leaf horizontal, horse-shoe-shaped, not so broad as the muzzle; vertical part of the sella almost same breadth upwards, and rounded off above, exceeded considerably in height by the upper margin of the posterior connecting process; lower lip with three vertical grooves; fur dark brown above, greyish brown beneath.

SIZE.—Length of head and body, 2.5 inches; tail, 1 inch.

There are two good woodcuts of the head of this bat in Dobson's Monograph.

NO. 53. RHINOLOPHUS TRIFOLIATUS.

HABITAT.—East coast of India.

DESCRIPTION.—Very much like R. perniger (luctus), but is distinguished by its smaller size and by the more pointed vertical process of the central nose-leaf, which in the other is truncated.

SIZE.—Length of head and body, 2 inches; tail about 1 inch.

GENUS HIPPOSIDEROS (GRAY) VEL PHYLLORHINA (BONAPARTE).

Nasal-leaf broad, depressed, transverse; ears with transverse wrinkles; a circular sac behind the nasal crest, which can be turned inside out; when alarmed the animal blows it out, and then withdraws it at each breath; it contains a waxy matter of green or yellow colour. Blyth thinks that this sac is affected by the amorous season, as in the case of the infra-orbital cavities of various ruminants and analogous glandular follicles in other animals.

This genus is also distinguishable from the last by the form of the ear conch, the small size of the anti-tragus, and, as Dr. Dobson particularly points out, by the presence of two joints only in all the toes, as also by the number and character of the teeth, which are as follows:—

Inc., 2/4; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/2—2; molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 54. HIPPOSIDEROS ARMIGER. The Large Horse-shoe Bat (Jerdon's No. 25).

HABITAT.—Lower Himalaya ranges; Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—Nasal-leaf large and square; lips with a triple fold of skin on each side; tragus vaguely developed and wavily emarginate; of a uniform light-brown colour, with maroon tips to the hairs of the upper parts; membranes black.

SIZE.—Head and body, 4-1/2 inches; tail, 2-1/2; wing expanse, 22.

Jerdon makes this out to be the same as Kellaart's H. lankadiva and the Malayan H. nobilis, but those are synonymous with Phyllorhina diadema. Kellaart supposed it to be identical with H. insignis, which will be found further on as Phyllorhina larvata, all those bats closely resembling each other in a general way. I think this No. 25 of Jerdon is the same as Peter's Phyllorhina armigera. Hutton found it at Darjeeling, and writes of it as follows:—

"When captured alive the large ears are kept in a constant state of rapid tremulous motion, and the animal emits a low purring sound, which becomes a sharp scream when alarmed or irritated. When suspended at rest the tail and inter-femoral membrane are turned up, not in front, like the Rhinolophi, but behind, over the lower part of the back; neither does it appear to envelope itself in its wings so completely as does R. luctus." He then goes on to say he has noticed the tremor of the ears and facial crests in all the Rhinolophi when disturbed, and concludes with a graphic description of this species, sallying forth in the evening to prey upon the noisy Cicadas; leisurely wheeling with noiseless, cautious flight round some wide-spreading oak, "scanning each branch as he slowly passes by—now rising to a higher circle, and then perchance descending to 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."

Jerdon procured specimens at Darjeeling, and Kellaart says it is found in great abundance at Kandy and its neighbourhood; Kurnegalle Tunnel swarms with them.

NO. 55. HIPPOSIDEROS SPEORIS. The Indian Horse-shoe Bat (Jerdon's No. 26).

HABITAT.—India generally and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—Mouse brown or fulvous brown. Occasionally golden fulvous and sometimes dusky black above, paler beneath; membranes dusky brown; interfemoral membrane narrow, enclosing the tail except the last half joint (about 2-10ths of an inch), which is free.

Ear large, erect and pointed, rounded at the base and emarginated on the outer edge; nasal process complicated. "Males have a frontal sac; females none" (Kellaart). Pubis naked, with two inguinal warts.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2 inches; tail, 1-2/10; wing expanse, 12.

Inhabits old buildings, wells, &c.

NO. 56. HIPPOSIDEROS MURINUS. The Little Horse-shoe Bat (Jerdon's No. 27).

HABITAT.—Southern India, Ceylon, and Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle short; body short and thick; a transverse frontal leaf with a sac behind it; no folds of skin on each side of the horse-shoe as in the last species; ears large, naked and rounded; colour dusky brown or mouse, sometimes light fawn; wing membrane blackish; interfemoral membrane large, and including the tail all but the tip.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1-4/5 inch; tail, 1-1/5 inch; wing expanse, 10.

Jerdon says the mouse-coloured variety is common in the Carnatic, but he has only seen the light fulvous race on the Nilgheries; but Mr. Elliot procured both in the southern Mahratta country. A dark variety of this bat was called Rhinolophus ater by Templeton, and H. atratus by Kellaart; in other respects it is identical, only a little smaller.

NO. 57. HIPPOSIDEROS CINERACEUS. The Ashy Horse-shoe Bat (Jerdon's No. 28).

HABITAT.—Punjab Salt range.

DESCRIPTION.—Similar to the last, but larger, and I should think the argument against H. atratus would apply to this as a distinct species.

NO. 58. HIPPOSIDEROS LARVATUS. Syn.—PHYLLORHINA LARVATA.

HABITAT.—Arracan.

DESCRIPTION.—The fur of the upper part bright fulvous; more or less tinged with maroon on the back, lighter underneath; membranes dusky, but tinged with the prevailing colour of the fur; ears angulated; a minute false molar in front of the carnassial in the upper jaw.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-3/4 inches; tail, 1-1/4; wing extent, 12.

Kellaart writes of this bat under his H. aureus. He describes it as head, neck, and body of a bright golden yellow, with a slight maroon shade on the tips of the hairs on the back. Females paler coloured. Frontal sac only in males; the waxy matter of a yellow colour, and quite transparent.

NO. 59. HIPPOSIDEROS VULGARIS. Syn.—PHYLLORHINA LARVATA. The Common Malayan Horse-shoe Bat.

HABITAT.—Arracan and Malayana.

DESCRIPTION.—"It differs from the last in being rather smaller, and of a brown colour above, much paler at the base of the hairs and at their extreme tips, and lighter coloured below; the ears more apiculated, or rather they appear so from being strongly emarginated externally towards the tip."—Blyth.

SIZE.—2-3/10 inches; tail 1-2/10; wing expanse about 12.

NO. 60. HIPPOSIDEROS BLYTHII.

HABITAT.—Ceylon, Fort Frederic.

DESCRIPTION.—Above surface colour a rich dark tawny brown; base of hairs much lighter coloured, of a brighter yellow tinge; beneath paler; face partially blackish; ears black; tip of tail excerted; no frontal sac; membranes blackish; nasal processes as in H. speoris.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-2/10 inches; tail, 1; wing expanse, 12.

Dr. Kellaart considered this a new and undescribed species, distinguished from H. speoris and H. vulgaris (vel Templetonii—Kellaart) by the greater length of the fore-arm, which is two inches. This remark however does not apply to vulgaris, of which Kellaart himself gives two inches as the length of the radius, and Blyth gives two and a quarter. The absence of the frontal sac would have been a greater proof, but both specimens on which Kellaart made his observations were females; and as colouring is so varied in the bat tribe as to preclude the division of species on this ground, I think we may put this down as a doubtful species on which more information is desirable.

NO. 61. PHYLLORHINA DIADEMA.

HABITAT.—India generally; Ceylon and Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.—The fur with three shades—buff, then reddish brown with ashy tips, underneath greyish or pale brown. "The hinder erect nose-leaf," according to Dobson's description, "equals the horse-shoe and slightly exceeds the sella in width, its free margin forming a segment of the circumference of a circle, with a small blunt projection in the centre and three vertical ridges on its concave front surface; sella large, with a prominent ridge in the centre, forming a small projection above and one smaller on each side; sides of the muzzle with prominent vertical leaves, three on each side; no frontal pore."

There is a good figure of the head of this bat in Cuvier's 'Animal Kingdom,' Carpenter's and Westwood's edition, under the name of Rhinolophus nobilis. It is the same also as Kellaart's Hipposideros lankadiva. Captain Hutton, who was a keen observer of the habits of the bats at Mussoorie, says of this one: "Like R. affinis, this species may frequently be heard during its flight cracking and crunching the hard wings of beetles, which in the evening hours are usually abundant among the trees; the teeth are strong, and the tout ensemble of its aspect is not unlike that of a bull-dog."—'Proc. Zoo. Soc.,' 1872, page 701.

NO. 62. PHYLLORHINA MASONI.

HABITAT.—Burmah (Moulmein).

DESCRIPTION.—This bat resembles the last closely; such difference as exists is that the concave surface of the terminal nose-leaf is divided into two cells only by a single central vertical ridge, and from the under surface of the juncture of the mandible a small bony process projects downwards about equal to the lower canine tooth in vertical extent, and covered by the integument.

There is an excellent figure of this bat in Dobson's Monograph, from whence I have also taken the above description.

NO. 63. PHYLLORHINA NICOBARENSIS.

HABITAT.—Nicobar Island.

DESCRIPTION.—"Ears large, acute; outer margin slightly concave beneath the tip; no frontal sac behind the nose-leaf; upper margin of the transverse terminal leaf simple, forming an arc of a circle, folded back and overhanging the concave front surface, which is divided into two cells only by a single central longitudinal ridge; in front the margin of the horse-shoe is marked by three small points" (Dobson). Fur light brown, then greyish, with light brown tips.

SIZE.—Length of head and body, 3 inches.

NO. 64. PHYLLORHINA ARMIGERA.

HABITAT.—The entire range of the Himalayas, Khasya Hills, and Ceylon.

[Figure: Phyllorhina armigera. Male. Female.]

DESCRIPTION.—The hinder erect nose-leaf narrow, not so broad as the horse-shoe; upper edge sinuate, slightly elevated in the centre, and at either extremity; vertical ridges beneath well developed, prominent, enclosing moderately deep cells; wart-like granular elevations on each side above the eyes are usually greatly developed, forming large thickened longitudinal elevations extending forward on each side of the posterior erect nose-leaf, and backwards towards the frontal sac (Dobson). The colour varies.

SIZE.—Length of head and body from 3 to 4 inches; tail about 2.

This is the largest of this genus, and one of the most interesting of the species. My space will not admit of extensive quotations from those who have written about it, but there is a fuller description of it in Dr. Dobson's book, and a very interesting account of its habits by Capt. J. Hutton, in the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' 1872, page 701.

NO. 65. PHYLLORHINA LEPTOPHYLLA.

HABITAT.—Khasya Hills.

DESCRIPTION.—Ears large, broad, triangular, with subacute tips; outer margin slightly concave; upper transverse nose-leaf small; upper edge simple, narrower than horse-shoe, thin; three vertical folds in front faintly descernible at base only; horse-shoe with small incision in centre of front free edge; frontal pore small, placed at some distance behind the transverse nose-leaf; fur and integuments dark throughout.—Dobson.

SIZE.—Length of head and body, 2 inches; tail, 1-6/10.

NO. 66. PHYLLORHINA GALERITA.

HABITAT.—Central India, Deccan.

DESCRIPTION.—"Ear comparatively small, as broad as long; inner margin very convex forward; outer margin slightly concave beneath the tip; nose-leaf as in P. larvata, but the transverse terminal leaf is more rectangular; the superior margin less convex, and its concave front surface is marked by three very prominent vertical ridges; frontal pore small, indistinct, not larger than in the females of P. larvata."—Dobson.

SIZE.—Head and body about 2 inches; tail, 1 inch.

NO. 67. PHYLLORHINA BICOLOR.

HABITAT.—India (N. W. Himalaya), Nicobar Islands.

DESCRIPTION.—Fur above reddish chestnut; the base of the hairs pale reddish-white, or base of hair pure white, the tip, dark reddish-brown. Ears as long as the head, broad; the lower half of the inner margin very convex; the summit of the ear conch rounded off broadly as far as a point on the outer side, where a slight but distinct flattening occurs, and indicates the position of the tip. Horse-shoe small, square; the concave front surface divided into four cells by three distinct vertical ridges; no secondary leaflets external to the horse-shoe; frontal sac distinct in males, rudimentary in females (Dobson). Blyth includes this bat in his Burmese Catalogue, but does not say much about it.

GENUS COELOPS.

Possesses the general characteristics of Rhinolophus, but the tail and calcanea wanting entirely; the intercrural membrane acutely emarginate to the depth of a line even with the knees; ears large, broad and rounded; the summit of the facial membranes rising abruptly, obtusely bifid, bent forward; fur long, delicately fine.—Jerdon.

Dental formula: Inc., 1—1/4; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/2—2; molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 68. COELOPS FRITHII. Frith's Tailless Bat (Jerdon's No. 29).

HABITAT.—The Sunderbunds, Bengal.

DESCRIPTION.—Colour dusky or blackish; the fur tipped with ashy brown above, paler and somewhat ashy beneath; membranes fuscous.

SIZE.—Length, 1-7/8 inch; membrane beyond 3/4 inch; forearm, 1-3/4.

This bat is rare. The above description, given by Jerdon, is based on one specimen sent to Mr. Blyth by Mr. Frith, who obtained it in the Sunderbunds. It also inhabits Java. Dr. Dobson examined a specimen from thence in the Leyden Museum. He says: "Calcanea and tail very short," whereas the above description says entirely wanting. "The ears are funnel-shaped, and thickly covered with fine hair. Metacarpal bone of thumb very long; the wing membrane enclosing the thumb up to the base of the claw; wing to the tarsus close to the ankles; feet very slender; toes with strong claws."

GENUS RHINOPOMA.

Ears moderate, but joined above, as in the Megaderms; the nostrils at the end of the muzzle, with a little lamina above, forming a kind of snout; tail slender and joined at the base with the intercrural membrane, but extending far beyond it.

Dental formula: Inc., 2/4; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 1—1/2—2; molars 3—3/3—3.

NO. 69. RHINOPOMA HARDWICKII. Hardwick's Long-tailed Leaf Bat (Jerdon's No. 30).

HABITAT.—All over India, Burmah and Malayana.

[Figure: Skull of Rhinopoma.]

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle long, thick, truncated, and surrounded by a small leaf; tragus oblong, bi-acuminate; forehead concave with a channel down the centre; fur soft and very fine, dull brown throughout; face, rump, and part of abdominal region naked.—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-6/10 inches; tail, 2-1/2; expanse, 13.

Frequents old ruins, caves, and clefts in rocks.

SUB-FAMILY NOCTILIONIDAE.

Bats without facial membranes; with short obtuse and bull-doggish heads; large lips.

GENUS TAPHOZOUS.

Have a small rounded indenture on the forehead; no raised lamina on the nostrils; the head pyramidal; eyes rather large; ears moderate in size and not joined at the base, but widely apart; the tip of the tail free above the membrane, which is much longer.

The males have a transverse cavity under the throat; wings long and narrow, collapsing with a double flexure outwards; fur soft and velvety. (Dobson includes this genus in his Family Emballonuridae.)

Dental formula: Inc., 1—1/4; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/2—2; molars, 3—3/3—3; premaxillaries cartilaginous, supporting only one pair of weak incisors with a gap between them.

NO. 70. TAPHOZOUS LONGIMANUS. The Long-armed Bat (Jerdon's No. 31).

HABITAT.—India generally.

DESCRIPTION.—"Ears oval, with many distinct folds, naked except at the base; tragus securiform; fur thick, close, fuscous-black; or dark fuscous-brown above; beneath paler, except on the throat, the hairs being conspicuously tipped with grey, the upper hairs being all white at their base; face nude, and the membrane dark brownish-black" (Jerdon). The gular sac, though represented in the male, is almost absent in the female, being but a rudimentary fold of skin; in this it differs from another common Indian species, T. saccolaimus, in which the gular sac is well developed in both sexes, though larger in the male.

SIZE.—Length, 5 inches; expanse, 15 to 16; tail, 1; fore-arm, 2-5/8; tibia, 1 inch.

This bat frequents old buildings, dark cellars, old ruins, &c.; the young are fulvescent, and become darker with age. Blyth states that it has a surprising faculty for creeping about on the vertical board of a cage, hitching its claws into the minute pores of the wood.

NO. 71. TAPHOZOUS MELANOPOGON. The Black-bearded Bat (Jerdon's No. 32).

HABITAT.—Common about Calcutta, East Coast of India, Burmah, and Cochin China.

DESCRIPTION.—"No gular sac, the openings of small pores appearing along a line corresponding to the position of the mouth of the gular sac in other species; in some male specimens the hair behind these pores is very long, forming a dense black beard" (Dobson). Ears moderate, oval, with the outer margin extending under the eyes, dilated into a large rounded lobe; the tragus leaf-shaped; the head, muzzle, and chin covered with short hairs.

SIZE.—Length of head and body about 3-1/2; tail, 2/3; wing expanse, 14 inches.

Horsfield says it occurs in caves in Java inhabited by the esculent swallows (Collocalia nidifica), the gelatinous nests of which are used for soup by the Chinese. Dobson remarks that the black beard is not always developed in the males; he conceives it to be owing to certain conditions, probably connected with the amorous seasons. In five males in the Indian Museum the beard is well developed; he found that only two per cent. of the Cochin China specimens in the Paris Museum possessed it.

NO. 72. TAPHOZOUS SACCOLAIMUS. The White-bellied Bat (Jerdon's No. 33).

HABITAT.—Peninsula of India, Burmah, and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—"Muzzle angular, naked, very acute; nostrils small, close; ears distant, shorter than the head, large inner margin recurved, outer margin dilated, reaching to the commissure of the mouth; tragus wide, securiform (i.e. axe-shaped); fur short, smooth, blackish on the head, chestnut brown on the back; beneath, dirty-white or black brown above with white pencillings; pure white below" (Jerdon). Dobson says of the fur: "above, white at the base, the terminal three-fourths of the hairs black, with a few irregular small white patches on the back; beneath dark brown." The gular sac is to be found in both sexes, but somewhat larger in the males.

SIZE.—About 5 inches; wing expanse, 17.

NO. 73. TAPHOZOUS THEOBALDI.

HABITAT.—Tenasserim.

DESCRIPTION.—The gular sac is absent in both sexes; ears larger than in any others of the sub-genus; the muzzle, from the corners of the eyes downwards, naked.

SIZE.—Head and body about 3-1/10 inches; tail, 1-1/4.

NO. 74. TAPHOZOUS KACHHENSIS.

HABITAT.—Kachh, N. W. India.

DESCRIPTION (apud Dobson).—"Gular sac absent in both male and female; its usual position indicated in the male by a semi-circular fold of skin and nakedness of the integument in this situation; in other respects similar to T. nudiventris. The deposits of fat about the tail very large."

SIZE.—Head and body about 3 inches; tail, 1-1/4.

T. nudiventris, above alluded to, is an inhabitant of Asia Minor, Egypt, and Nubia; similar to the above, only that it has a small gular sac in the male, of which a trace only exists in the female. Its most striking peculiarity is the deposit of fat at the root of the tail, which may possibly be for purposes of absorption during the dormant winter season.

GENUS NYCTINOMUS.

"Ears broad, short, approximate or connate with the outer margin, terminating in an erect lobe beyond the conch; tragus small, concealed" (often very small and quadrate, but never reduced to a mere point, as in Molossus—Dobson); "wings narrow, folded as in Taphozous; intercrural membrane short, truncate; tall free at the tip; feet short, with strong toes; muzzle thick; lips tumid, lax; upper lip with coarse wrinkles."—Jerdon.

Dental formula: Inc., 2/6 or 2/4; can., 1—1/1—1; premol., 2—2/2—2; mol., 3—3/3—3.

NO. 75. NYCTINOMUS PLICATUS. The Wrinkle-lipped Bat (Jerdon's No. 34).

HABITAT.—India generally.

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle broad and thick; upper lip overhanging the lower, marked by vertical wrinkles; ears large and quadrilateral; outer margin ending in a decided anti-tragus; tail thick; the lower part of the leg is free from the wing membrane, which however, is connected with the ankle by a strong fibrous band; fur dense, smoky or snuff brown above (or bluish black—Dobson); paler beneath.

SIZE.—Head and body about 2-1/10 inches; tail, 1-1/10. Jerdon gives length, 4-1/4 to 4-1/10; expanse, 13-1/2; tail, 1-3/4.

This bat is common about Calcutta, frequenting ruins, dark places and hollow trees. It is allied to N. tenuis (Horsfield), and it is mentioned as inhabiting hollow trees in such numbers as to attract attention by the hissing noise from within, every available spot in the interior being occupied. A synonym of the genus is Dysopes.

NO. 76. NYCTINOMUS TRAGATUS.

HABITAT.—India generally.

DESCRIPTION.—This differs from the last in having the wing membrane from the ankles, and in the free portion of the tail being shorter; ears united at the base; tragus broad and rounded above, partially concealed by the large anti-tragus.

SIZE.—About the same as the last.

SUB-FAMILY VESPERTILIONIDAE.

These bats have simple nostrils, as in the frugivorous ones, with no complications of foliated cutaneous appendages; the muzzle is conical, moderately long, and clad with fur; the ears wide apart; the inner margins springing from the sides, not the top of the head; the tragi are large; eyes usually very small, and the tail, which is long, is wholly included in the membrane.

Dentition (usually): Inc., 2—2/6; can., 1—1/1—1, premol., 3—3/3—3; mol., 3—3/3—3. The upper incisors are small, and placed in pairs near the canines, leaving a gap in the centre. The lower ones sharp-edged and somewhat notched. At birth there are twenty-two teeth, which are shed, and replaced by others, with sixteen additional ones, the adult bat having thirty-eight teeth.

GENUS PLECOTUS.

Ears very large, united at the base; outer margin of the ear conch terminating opposite the base of the tragus, the inner margin with an abrupt rounded projection directed inwards above the base; tragus very large, tapering upwards, with a lobe at the base of the outer margin.

Dentition: Inc., 2—2/6; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/2—2; molars, 3—3/3—3.

The English species P. auritus is very common there, and also in France; its ears are nearly as long as its body, yet, when reposing, they are so folded as to be almost out of sight. The Indian species is only a variety distinguishable by its yet longer ears ("and comparative shortness of the thumbs"—Dobson).

NO. 77. PLECOTUS AURITUS vel HOMOCHROUS.

HABITAT.—The Himalayas and the Khasia Hills.

[Figure: Plecotus auritus.]

DESCRIPTION.—Head slightly raised above the face-line; ears nearly as long as the fore-arm, joined by a low band across the forehead at the bases of their inner margins; wings from the base of the toes; feet slender; tip of the tail free; fur silky, short, and of a uniform dull brown.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.7 inch; ears, 1.55 (ears of English type of same size, 1.4 inch); tail, 1.7 inch. Jerdon gives larger results, but I put more reliance on Dobson's figures.

GENUS VESPERUGO.

Bats with very broad and obtuse muzzles; the glandular prominences much developed between the eyes and the nostrils; crown of the head flat; but what distinguishes it from the following genus, Scotophilus, is the presence of four incisors in the upper jaw, whereas Scotophilus has two only—otherwise the two genera are very similar.

NO. 78. VESPERUGO NOCTULA.

HABITAT.—Nepal.

[Figure: Vesperugo noctula.]

DESCRIPTION.—Head broad and flat; ears oval and broad; the outer margin convex, reflected backwards, and forming a thick lobe terminating close to the angle of the mouth; tragus short and curved inwards; muzzle devoid of hair; fur dark reddish brown.

NO. 79. VESPERUGO LEUCOTIS.

HABITAT.—Deserts of Northern India, and Beluchistan.

DESCRIPTION.—"Ears, sides of face, about the eyes, interfemoral membrane, antehumeral membrane, and that portion of the wing membrane along the sides of the body, white, very translucent; remaining portion of wing membrane sepia, traversed by very distinct reticulations; fur on the upper surface black at the base of the hairs for about half their length, remaining portion light yellowish brown; beneath the same, but paler, almost white."—Dobson.

NO. 80. VESPERUGO MAURUS.

HABITAT.—Khasya Hills.

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle broad and flat, with large labial development; ears broad, triangular, broadly rounded off above; tragus broad and square; fur long and dense, uniformly sooty brown, with greyish tips; membranes, nose, ears and lips black.

SIZE.—Head and body 1-1/10 inch; tail, 1 inch.

NO. 81. VESPERUGO AFFINIS.

HABITAT.—Burmah (Bhamo, Yunan).

DESCRIPTION (apud Dobson).—Head flat; upper labial glands so developed as to cause a deep depression between them on the face behind the nostrils; ears broad as long from behind; the outer margin extends from the tip to its termination near the corner of the mouth without emargination or lobe; tragus broad; inner margin straight; outer convex; small triangular lobe at base. Fur chocolate brown above, lighter on head and neck; beneath dark brown with lighter tips on the pubes, and along the thighs dirty white or pale buff.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.9 inch; tail, 1.65 inch.

There is a good figure of the head of this bat in Dobson's Monograph; it was obtained by Dr. J. Anderson at an elevation of 4500 feet at Bhamo.

NO. 82. VESPERUGO PACHYOTIS.

DESCRIPTION.—"This species is readily distinguished by the peculiar thickness of the lower half of the outer side of the ear-conch, which appears as it were excavated out of the thick integument of the neck; tragus short, curved inwards."—Dobson.

This bat is more fully described with three illustrations in Dobson's Monograph; he does not mention where it is found, so it may or it may not be an Indian species.

NO. 83. VESPERUGO ATRATUS. Syn.—NYCTICEJUS ATRATUS.

HABITAT.—Darjeeling.

DESCRIPTION.—Head broad; muzzle obtuse; upper labial glands largely developed; ears large, oval, with rounded tips, which in the natural position of the ears appear acute, owing to the longitudinal folding of the outer side of the conch on the inner, commencing at and almost bisecting the tip (Dobson). Fur long, dense and black; Jerdon says rich dark brown; paler beneath.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.9 inch; tail, 1.8 inch.

NO. 84. VESPERUGO TICKELLI.

HABITAT.—Chybassa, Jashpur, and Sirguja.

DESCRIPTION.—Head broad and flat; labial glands developed; ears moderate, rounded above; outer edge straight, emarginate opposite base of tragus, terminating in a small lobe; tragus lunate; tail long; last vertebra free. The face is more clad with fur than in other species of this genus; fur of the body pale, straw brown above, pale buff beneath. For a fuller description and illustration, see Dobson's Monograph.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.65 inch; tail, 2 inches.

NO. 85. VESPERUGO PACHYPUS.

HABITAT.—Darjeeling, Tenasserim, and Andaman Islands.

DESCRIPTION.—Crown of head very flat; ears short, triangular, with broadly rounded tips, tragus short; under surface of the base of the thumb and soles of the feet with broad fleshy pads; wings rather short; fur fine and dense, above reddish brown, paler beneath.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.75 inch; tail 1 inch.

NO. 86. VESPERUGO ANNECTANS.

HABITAT.—Naga Hills and Assam.

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle sharper; face hairy; ears pointed; tragus long; colour dark brown; illustration in Dobson's Monograph.

SIZE.—About 2 inches; tail, 1.6 inch.

Unites the appearance of a Vespertilio to the dentition of Vesperugo.

NO. 87. VESPERUGO DORMERI.

HABITAT.—Southern India and Bellary Hills.

DESCRIPTION.—Head flat; ears shorter, triangular, with rounded tips; tragus with a small triangular lobe near base of outer margin; fur brown, with ashy tips above, darker brown below, with the terminal third of the hairs white. Dentition approaches the next genus, there being only one pair of unicuspidate upper incisors placed, one by each upper canine.

NO. 88. (VESPERUGO) SCOTOPHILUS SEROTINUS. Syn.—VESPERUGO SEROTINUS. The Silky Bat (Jerdon's No. 35).

HABITAT.—Europe, but extending through Asia to the Himalayas, Beluchistan and Kashmir.

DESCRIPTION.—Ears shorter than head, widely separate, ovate, angular, projecting forward, terminating in a convex; lobe ending on a level with the corner of the mouth; tragus twice the length of its breadth, semi-cordate; fur deep bay or chestnut brown; above fulvous, grey beneath; hairs of back long and silky, but the colour of the fur varies considerably.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-1/2 inches; tail, 2; wing expanse, 13.

This is a rare bat in India, though Captain Hutton has procured it at Mussoorie. In England it is not uncommon even near London; it flies steadily and rather slow, and is found in ruins, roofs of churches, and sometimes old hollow trees.

NO. 89. (VESPERUGO) SCOTOPHILUS LEISLERI. Syn.—VESPERUGO LEISLERI. The Hairy-armed Bat (Jerdon's No. 36).

HABITAT.—Himalayas.

[Figure: Vesperugo Leisleri.]

DESCRIPTION.—Ears short, oval, triangular; tragus short, rounded at tip; membrane attached to base of outer toe; all toes short; membrane over the arms very hairy, some cross-lines of hair on the interfemoral membrane; fur long, deep fuscous brown at base, chestnut at the tip; beneath greyish brown.—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-1/4 inches; tail, 3-3/4; expanse, 11-1/2.

SCOTOPHILUS PACHYOMUS. (Jerdon's No. 37.)

Synonymous with his No. 35; see Dobson's Monograph.

NO. 90. (VESPERUGO) SCOTOPHILUS COROMANDELIANUS. Syn.—VESPERUGO ABRAMUS; VESPERTILIO COROMANDELICUS. The Coromandel Bat (Jerdon's No. 38).

HABITAT.—India generally, Burmah and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—Ears triangular, rather large; outer margin straight or slightly concave; tragus lunate; feet small; wing membrane attached to the base of the toes; fur short, above dingy brown, the hairs tipped with a lighter tinge, paler beneath.

SIZE.—2-1/2 inches, including tail, which is about 1-1/8; wing expanse, 7-1/2.

This is a very common little bat, akin to the English Pipistrelle, and is found everywhere in roofs, hollow bamboos, &c.

NO. 91. (VESPERUGO) SCOTOPHILUS LOBATUS. Syn.—VESPERUGO KUHLII. The Lobe-eared Bat (Jerdon's No. 39).

HABITAT.—India generally.

DESCRIPTION.—Ears small, triangular; the base of the margin very convex forward; a triangular lobule above the base of the outer margin; tragus short and uniform in width; a short muzzle; wings from the base of the toes; feet small; calcaneum long; tip of tail free; fur blackish yellow above, ashy beneath.

SIZE.—Two and a-half inches, of which the tail is 1-1/4; expanse 7-2/3. Jerdon, quoting Tomes, states that this is the same as V. Abramus, but that is the synonym of the last species.

GENUS SCOTOPHILUS.

Muzzle short, bluntly conical, devoid of hair; ears longer than broad; tail shorter than the head and body; wing membrane attached to the base of the toes.

Dentition: Inc., 1—1/6; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 1—1/2—2; molars 3—3/3—3.

Jerdon's formula gives upper incisors 4.

NO. 92. SCOTOPHILUS FULIGINOSUS. The Smoky Bat (Jerdon's No. 40).

HABITAT.—Central Nepal.

DESCRIPTION (apud Hodgson).—"Feet very small, included in the wing membrane nearly to the end of the toes; ears acutely pointed, shorter than the head; muzzle groved, nudish; face sharp; rostrum somewhat recurved; wholly sooty brown; a little smaller than Vesp. formosa."

I cannot find this bat mentioned by any other author, and Jerdon says it does not seem to be recognised.

NO. 93. SCOTOPHILUS TEMMINCKII. Syn.—NYCTICEJUS TEMMINCKII (Jerdon).

HABITAT.—India generally; Burmah and Ceylon.

[Figure: Scotophilus Temminckii.]

DESCRIPTION.—Ears short, rounded and narrow; tragus narrow, curved and pointed inwards; muzzle thick, blunt and conical; the fur varies, sometimes dark olive brown, fulvous beneath, and occasionally chestnut, with a paler shade of yellow below.

SIZE.—Four and a-half inches, of which the tail is 1-1/2; expanse, 13.

A very common species, appearing early in the evening. Horsfield says of it that it collects by hundreds in hollow trees, and feeds chiefly on white ants.

NO. 94. SCOTOPHILUS HEATHII.

HABITAT.—India and Ceylon (Rajanpore, Punjab).

DESCRIPTION.—Similar to the above, but longer in all its measurements (Dobson). Judging from drawings, the head and muzzle of this are more in a line than in the last species, the ears project forward, and are also larger, the tragus especially, and there is a greater width between the ears.

SIZE.—Five inches, of which the tail is 2.

NO. 95. SCOTOPHILUS EMARGINATUS.

HABITAT.—India; precise locality unknown.

DESCRIPTION.—Head broad and flat; muzzle obtuse and thick; ears long and large, with rounded tips turning outwards; tragus short; thumb long with a strong claw; wing membrane quite devoid of hair, except on the interfemoral membrane, which is half covered; fur tricolored, first dark chestnut, buff, and then yellowish brown.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-1/10 inches; tail, 2 inches.

NO. 96. SCOTOPHILUS ORNATUS. Syn.—NYCTICEJUS ORNATUS.

HABITAT.—India and Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.—Head broad; muzzle short; ears triangular, erect, with rounded tips, and broadly rounded lobe at the base; tragus narrow, semi-lunate, curved towards the front; fur a light Isabelline brown, spotted with white; a white spot on the centre of the forehead, and from the back of the head down the spine for two-thirds of its length a narrow white streak; on each side of the body two white patches; a broad white collar, or rather demi-collar, from one ear spot to the other, passing under the throat. Dr. Dobson says the position of these patches is very constant, but the size varies, being greatest in individuals of a pale rusty red colour, and these he found always to be males.

SIZE.—Head and body, 3 inches; tail, 2 inches; expanse, 15.

NO. 97. SCOTOPHILUS PALLIDUS.

HABITAT.—Mian Mir, Lahore.

DESCRIPTION.—Head and muzzle as in S. Temminckii; ears slightly shorter than the head; internal basal lobe convex, evenly rounded; tip broadly rounded off; tragus moderately long and rounded at the tip; a prominent triangular lobe at base. Wing membrane from base of toes; lobule at the heel very narrow and long; last rudimentary caudal vertebra free; fur of the body, wings, and interfemoral membrane pale buff throughout.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2 inches; tail, 1.4 inch.

NOCTULINIA NOCTULA. (See ante: Vesperugo noctula—Jerdon's No. 41.)

NYCTICEJUS HEATHII. Large Yellow Bat (Jerdon's No. 42). (See ante: Scotophilus Heathii.)

NYCTICEJUS LUTEUS. The Bengal Yellow Bat (Jerdon's No. 43).

NYCTICEJUS TEMMINCKII. The Common Yellow Bat (Jerdon's No. 44).

Both the above (Nos. 43 and 44) are, according to Dr. Dobson, synonymous with Scotophilus Temminckii, which see.

NYCTICEJUS CASTANEUS. The Chestnut Bat (Jerdon's No. 45).

This is also a variety of Scotophilus Temminckii.

NYCTICEJUS ATRATUS. The Sombre Bat (Jerdon's No. 46). (See ante: Vesperugo atratus.)

NYCTICEJUS CANUS. The Hoary Bat (Jerdon's No. 47). (See ante: Vesperugo lobatus.)

NYCTICEJUS ORNATUS. The Harlequin Bat (Jerdon's No. 48). (See ante: Scotophilus ornatus.)

NO. 98. NYCTICEJUS NIVICOLUS. The Alpine Bat (Jerdon's No. 49).

HABITAT.—Sikim.

DESCRIPTION.—"Head and body above uniform light brown with a slight yellowish shade; underneath, from the throat to the vent, dark grey with a brownish tint, lighter on the sides of the throat. Ears long, attenuated to an obtuse point."—Jerdon.

SIZE.—Head and body, 3 inches; tail, 2 inches; expanse, 19 inches.

This bat was described by Hodgson ('Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.' 1855), but there is some doubt about it, and it has been classed as a Lasiurus and also with Scot. ornatus and Vesp. formosa, but Jerdon thinks it a distinct species. I cannot find any mention of it in Dobson's monograph.

GENUS HARPIOCEPHALUS.

This is also the genus Murina of Gray. Dr. Dobson explains his acceptance of the former term in the following way: that he first accepted Murina on the score of priority in a paper showing that Harpiocephalus and Murina must be united in a single genus; but finding afterwards that Gray had founded Murina on a specimen of what he believed to be Vesp. suillus (Temm.), but which was in reality a specimen of a very different species from Darjeeling, belonging to the same section of the genus as Vespertilio harpia (Temm.) the type of his genus Harpiocephalus, it remained therefore either to discard both names or to retain Harpiocephalus, in which course he was supported by Professor Peters, to whom he mentioned the facts.

Horsfield's genus Lasiurus is included in this one, though Jerdon considers it distinct from Murina.

Muzzle elongated, conical; nostrils prominent, tubular; produced beyond the upper lip, opening laterally or sublaterally, emarginate between; crown of the head scarcely raised above the face line; ears thin, generally covered with glandular papillae; tragus long, attenuated towards the tip, and inclined outwards; thumb very large, with a large, strongly curved claw; wings around interfemoral membrane very hairy.—Dobson.

Dentition: Inc., 2—2/6; can. 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/2—2; molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 99. HARPIOCEPHALUS HARPIA. Lasiurus Pearsonii (Horsfield) (Jerdon's No. 50).

HABITAT.—Darjeeling and Khasia hills.

DESCRIPTION.—"Fur above very soft, silky, and rather long; colour on the head, neck, and shoulders brownish grey, with a ferruginous cast, variegated with whitish hairs; the rest of the body above, with the base of the membrane, the thighs and the interfemoral membrane, have a deep bay or reddish-brown hue, and delicate hairs of the same colour are scattered over the membrane and project from its border; the body underneath is thickly covered with a grey fur, which is paler on the breast and body; the interfemoral membrane marked with regularly parallel transverse lines" (Horsfield). Ears ovoid; tragus rather long, nearly straight, acute at the tip (Jerdon). Muzzle rather short, obtusely conical; end of nose projecting considerably beyond the lip, consisting of diverging tubular nostrils opening laterally, with a slight emargination between each (Dobson).

SIZE.—Head and body, 3 inches; tail, 1-1/2 inch; expanse, 14. Hodgson, who procured it at Darjeeling, writes of it: "Entire legs and caudal membrane clad in fur like the body, which is thick and woolly. Colour bright rusty above; sooty below, the hairs tipped with hoary."

[Figure: Skull of Harpiocephalus harpia.]

This bat is, for its size, one of the most powerfully armed with teeth. The skull reminds one of that of a dog or hyaena in miniature; the teeth are very stout, the canines blunt and conical, and the cusps of the molars short and blunt, well coated with enamel; the jaws are correspondingly muscular and adapted to the food of the animal, which consists of hard-shelled beetles, the crushed cases of which have been found in its stomach.

NO. 100. HARPIOCEPHALUS (MURINA) SUILLUS. The Pig-Bat (Jerdon's No. 51).

HABITAT.—Darjeeling (Jerdon); Malayan archipelago.

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle narrow, elongated; nostrils very prominent, which, viewed from below, resemble in shape a small hour-glass placed horizontally at the extremity of the muzzle; ears moderate, shorter than the head, rounded at the tips; tragus moderately long, attenuated above and slightly curved outwards; fur light greyish-brown; extremities dark brown; beneath light greyish-brown throughout.—Dobson.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1-3/4 to 2 inches; tail, 1-1/2 inch; expanse 9 to 10.

NO. 101. HARPIOCEPHALUS AURATUS.

HABITAT.—Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.—Head and muzzle as in H. suillus, but the nostrils are differently shaped; each nostril forms a distinct tube directed sublaterally with a circular aperture marked by a very small notch on the outer and upper margin (Dobson). The whole body is thickly clad; the fur on the back is black, with bright golden yellow tips; the back of the fore-arm covered with short golden hair; the hair of the under parts black with silvery tips, whiter on the lower jaw, neck and pubis; the interfemoral membrane is covered with very long hair, which forms a fringe along its free margin extending on the legs and feet, and projecting beyond the toes; underneath short silvery hair.

SIZE.—Head and body 1.4 inch; tail 1.2.

NO. 102. HARPIOCEPHALUS GRISEUS.

HABITAT.—Jeripani, N.W. Himalayas.

DESCRIPTION.—Head and muzzle as in H. suillus; fur above dark brown, with yellowish-brown extremities; beneath similar, but with the extreme points of the hairs ashy.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.4 inch; tail 1 inch.

This bat was found near Mussoorie by Captain Hutton, who writes that it occurs, but sparingly, on the outer southern range of hills at 5500 feet. It skims close to the ground, and somewhat leisurely over the surface of the crops and grass; and one which flew into his room kept low down, passing under chairs and tables, instead of soaring towards the ceiling, as bats generally do.

NO. 103. HARPIOCEPHALUS LEUCOGASTER.

HABITAT.—N.W. Himalayas, Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.—Head and muzzle as in H. harpia; fur long and dense, above brown with grey bases; underneath whitish; sides light brown. It differs from the next species by a small projecting tooth on the inner margin of the ear conch, by the smaller size of the first upper premolar, and by the colour.—Dobson.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.9 inch; tail 1.5.

NO. 104. HARPIOCEPHALUS CYCLOTIS.

HABITAT.—Darjeeling, Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—Similar to the last, but with round ears; fur bicoloured, the hairs being dark brown at the base, with bright ferruginous tips; below pale brown; the upper surface of the interfemoral membrane and back of the feet covered with hair, which also extends beyond the toes; the first premolar in the upper jaw nearly equal in size to the second, whereas in the last species it is only about three-fourths.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.7 inch; tail, 1.5.

GENUS KERIVOULA.

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle long and narrow; skull very concave between the nasal bones and the vertex, so that the crown appears considerably vaulted; ears funnel-shaped and semi-transparent; tragus very long, narrow and pointed; wings very wide; tail longer than head and body, wholly contained within the interfemoral membrane.

Dentition: Inc., 2—2/6; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 3—3/3—3; molars, 3—3/3—3.

The generic name of this bat is composed of two Singhalese words—kehel or kela, the plantain, and voulha, which is the Singhalese for bat, the specimen on which Gray founded his genus being the following:—

NO. 105. KERIVOULA PICTA. The Painted Bat (Jerdon's No. 53).

HABITAT.—India generally, Burmah and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—"Fur fine, woolly; above yellowish-red or golden rufous, beneath less brilliant and more yellow; wing membranes inky black, with rich orange stripes along the fingers extending in indentations into the membrane."—Jerdon.

Ears moderate, laid forwards; the tips reach midway between the eyes and the middle of the muzzle; tragus very long and straight; thumb short; wings to the base of the toes.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1-1/2 inch; tail, 1.6 inch; expanse about 10 inches.

This beautiful little bat is found all over India, but is not common; it is occasionally caught in plantain gardens, as it resorts to the leaves of that tree for shelter during the night, and may sometimes be discovered in the folds of a leaf. As Jerdon remarks, it looks more like a butterfly or a moth when disturbed during the day time. Dr. Dobson pertinently observes that the colours of this bat appear to be the result of the "protective mimicry" which we see so often in insects, the Mantidea and other genera, the colours being adapted to their abiding places. He alludes to Mr. Swinhoe's account ('P. Z. S.,' 1862, p. 357) of an allied species:—"The body of this bat was of an orange yellow, but the wings were painted with orange yellow and black. It was caught suspended head downwards on a cluster of the round fruit of the longan tree. (Nephelium [Scytalia] longanum) [the ash phul of Bengal]. Now this tree is an evergreen, and all the year through some portion of its foliage is undergoing decay, the particular leaves being in such a stage partially orange and black; this bat can therefore at all seasons suspend from its branches and elude its enemies by its resemblance to the leaf of the tree." This bat was named by Pallas Vespertilio pictus. Boddaert in 1785 termed it Vesp. kerivoula, and Gray afterwards took the second specific name for that of the genus, leaving the first as it is.

KERIVOULA PALLIDA. (Jerdon's No. 54.)

This is synonymous with Vespertilio formosus, which see further on, it is the same as the Kerivoula formosa of Gray.

NO. 106. KERIVOULA PAPILLOSA. (Jerdon's No. 55.)

HABITAT.—Java, but said by Jerdon to have been found in Calcutta and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—Fur fine woolly, long, bicoloured; above light shining brown, paler below; the free edge of the interfemoral membrane margined with small papillae.

NO. 107. KERIVOULA HARDWICKII.

HABITAT.—India (Assam—Shillong, Khasia hills).

DESCRIPTION.—Same size as K. picta, but ears larger; fur uniformly dark above and below, with shining greyish-brown extremities.

GENUS VESPERTILIO.

Muzzle long; ears often larger than the head, oval, apart; tragus long, acute; crown of head vaulted; feet moderate; wing membrane from base of toes; tail, wholly included in interfemoral membrane, less than length of head and body.

Dentition: Inc., 2—2/6; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 3—3/3—3; molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 108. MYOTIS (VESPERTILIO) MURINUS. (Jerdon's No. 61.)

HABITAT.—N.W. Himalayas.

[Figure: Vespertilio murinus.]

DESCRIPTION.—Fur above light reddish or smoke brown beneath dusky white, the base of the hairs dark.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2-1/2 inches; tail, 2 inches; expanse, 15 inches.

NOS. 109 & 110. MYOTIS THEOBALDI and MYOTIS PARVIPES. (Jerdon's Nos. 62 & 63.)

Both these appear to be closely allied to the pipistrelle of Europe, and are stated to have been found at Mussoorie and in Kashmir.

NO. 111. VESPERTILIO LONGIPES.

HABITAT.—Kashmir (caves of Bhima Devi, 6000 feet).

DESCRIPTION.—Wings from the ankles; feet very large, about one-fourth the length of the head and body; fur black above, underneath black with whitish tips.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.75 inch; tail, 1.45 inch.

NO. 112. VESPERTILIO MYSTACINUS.

HABITAT.—Himalayas.

DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle narrow; skull vaulted; ears as long as head, wings from base of toes; fur dark brown.

NO. 113. VESPERTILIO MURICOLA.

HABITAT.—Himalayas, Arracan.

DESCRIPTION.—Similar to the above, but may be distinguished by a small lobe behind the heel, by the deep emargination of the upper third of the outer margin of the ear; by the intensely black colour of the fur and membranes, and by its small size.—Dobson.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.6 inch; tail, 1.55 inch.

NO. 114. VESPERTILIO MONTIVAGUS.

HABITAT.—Burmah, Hotha, Yunan.

DESCRIPTION.—Head slightly elevated above the face line; muzzle obtuse; ears narrow, tapering, with rounded tips slightly turned outwards; tragus long, narrow, and acutely pointed; feet very small; toes two-thirds the length of the whole foot; tail wholly contained in the membrane; wings from base of toes; fur dark brown above, the tips paler and shining, beneath much darker, almost black, with ashy tips to the hairs; face much covered with hair, which almost conceals the eyes; the tip of the nose alone naked; wing membranes partially covered with fur.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.8 inch; tail, 1.6 inch.

This bat, of which the above description is taken from Dobson's monograph, was obtained by Dr. J. Anderson during the Yunan Expedition.

NO. 115. VESPERTILIO MURINOIDES.

HABITAT.—N.W. Himalayas (Chamba), 3000 feet.

DESCRIPTION.—General form of the ear triangular, with narrow rounded tips; outer margin concave beneath tips; tragus slender and acutely pointed, with a quadrangular lobe at the base of the outer margin; fur dark brown above with light brown tips; dark brown below, almost black with greyish tips.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2.5 inches; tail 2.

NO. 116. VESPERTILIO FORMOSUS.

HABITAT.—N.W. Himalayas (Nepal, Darjeeling), Khasia hills.

[Figure: Vespertilio formosus.]

DESCRIPTION.—Wing membrane broad and variegated with orange and rich dark brown; the portions of the dark-coloured membrane are triangular in form, and occupy the spaces between the second and third and third and fourth fingers; all the remaining portions of the membranes, including interfemoral, are orange, as are also the ears; the orange colour extends in narrow lines along each side of the fingers, and is dispersed over the dark triangular space in dots and streaks.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2 inches; tail, 1.1; expanse 11.

NO. 117. VESPERTILIO NEPALENSIS.

HABITAT.—Khatmandu, Nepal.

DESCRIPTION.—Fur of head and back long and dense, bicoloured; base black, tips brown; underneath the hairs are two-thirds black, with the remaining upper third pure white.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1.65 inch; tail, 1.35.

NO. 118. VESPERTILIO EMARGINATUS. VARIETY.—Desertorum.

HABITAT.—Beluchistan.

DESCRIPTION.—The upper third of the outer margin of the ears deeply emarginate; colour of fur light brownish; ears and interfemoral membranes pale yellowish white; membranes dusky white.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2 inches; tail 1.6.

GENUS MINIOPTERUS (Bonaparte).

DESCRIPTION.—Crown of head abruptly and very considerably raised above the face line; ears separate, rhomboidal, the outer margin carried forward to the angle of the mouth; tragus like that in Vesperugo; first phalanx of the second or longest finger very short; feet long and slender; tail as long as head and body, wholly contained in the membrane.

Dentition: Inc., 2—2/6; can., 1—1/1—1, premolars, 2—2/3—3, molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 119. MINIOPTERUS SCHREIBERSII.

HABITAT.—Burmah and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.—Colour of fur varies, the basal half of the hair always dark greyish black, dark brown or black; the extremities varying from light grey to light reddish-grey, dark reddish-brown and black. For further details see Dobson's monograph.

GENUS BARBASTELLUS.

Ears large, connate at the base in front, triangular, emarginate on the outer margin, broad, concealing the back of the head, hairy in the middle; tragus broad at the base, narrow at the tip, and curved outwardly.

[Figure: Synotus barbastellus.]

Dentition: Inc., 2—2/6; can., 1—1/1—1; premolars, 2—2/2—2; molars, 3—3/3—3.

NO. 120. BARBASTELLUS COMMUNIS. (Jerdon's No. 65.)

HABITAT.—Himalayas, Nepal and Mussoorie.

DESCRIPTION.—Fur above blackish brown; the hairs fulvous at the tips; abdomen greyish brown; hairs fine silky.

SIZE.—Head and body, 2 inches; tail, 1-2/12; expanse; 10-1/2.—Jerdon.

This is the same as the English Barbastelle, and it appears in Dobson's monograph as Synotus Darjeelinensis.

NO. 121. NYCTOPHILUS GEOFFROYI. (Jerdon's No. 66.)

HABITAT.—Mussoorie.

Jerdon here goes back to the nose-leafed bats. I can find no trace of it in Dobson's monograph, which is so exhaustive as far as Asiatic species are concerned.

DESCRIPTION.—Over the eyes, at the hind corner, a tuft of black hair; fur dark brown, above throat and flank brownish-white; below black with white tips. A simple transverse nose-leaf; ears large, ovoid, united at base as in Plecotus.

SIZE.—Head and body, 1-3/4 to 2 inches; tail, 1-5/12; expanse, 9-3/4.

* * * * *

We have now concluded our notice of Indian bats but yet much is to be discovered concerning them. Very little is known of the habits of these small nocturnal animals, only a few of the most familiar large ones are such as one can discourse upon in a popular way; the lives and habits of the rest are a blank to us. We see them flit about rapidly in the dusky evening, and capture one here and there, but, after a bare description, in most cases very uninteresting to all save those who are "bat fanciers," what can be said about them? Many of them have been written about for a century, yet how little knowledge has been gained! It has been no small labour to collate all the foregoing species, and to compare them with various works; it would have been a most difficult task but for the assistance I have received from Dr. Dobson's book, which every naturalist should possess if he desires to have a thorough record of all the Indian Chiroptera.

INSECTIVORA.

These are mostly small animals of, with few exceptions, nocturnal habits.

Their chief characteristic lies in their pointed dentition, which enable them to pierce and crush the hard-shelled insects on which they feed. The skull is elongated, the bones of the face and jaw especially, and those of the latter are comparatively weak. Before we come to the teeth we may notice some other peculiarities of this order.

The limbs are short, feet five-toed and plantigrade, with the entire sole placed on the ground in running, and these animals are all possessed of clavicles which in the next order are but rudimentary; in this respect they legitimately follow the Bats. The mammae are placed under the abdomen, and are more than two. None of them (except Tupaia) have a caecum (this genus has been most exhaustively described in all its osteological details by Dr. J. Anderson: see his 'Anatomical and Zoological Researches'); the snout is usually prolonged and mobile. The dentition is eccentric, and not always easy to determine; some have long incisors in front, followed by other incisors along the sides of their narrow jaws and canines, all shorter than the molars; others have large separated canines, between which are placed small incisors. In Blyth's additions to Cuvier he states that "in this group we are led to identify the canine tooth as simply the first of the false molars, which in some has two fangs, and, as in the Lemurs, to perceive that the second in the lower jaw is in some more analogous in size and character to an ordinary canine than that which follows the incisors. The incisor teeth are never more than six in number, which is the maximum throughout placental mammalia (as opposed by marsupial), and in several instances one or two pairs are deficient. (It should be remarked that a single tooth with two fangs is often represented by two separate teeth, each with one fang.) The canines, with the succeeding false molars, are extremely variable, but there are ordinarily three tuberculated molars posterior to the representative of the carnivorous or cutting grinder of the true Carnivora." All the molar teeth are studded with sharp points or cusps; the deciduous teeth are developed and disappear before birth. This order is divided into four families, viz., Talpidae or Moles, Sorecidae or Shrews, Erinaceidae or Hedgehogs, and the Tupaiadae, Banxrings or Tree-shrews. Of all these well-defined types are to be found in India, but America and Africa possess various genera which we have not, such as the Condylures (Condylura, Illiger), the Shrew-moles (Scalops, Cuvier), belonging to Talpidae; the Solendons, Desmans, and Chrysochlores to Sorecidae; the Sokinahs, Tenrecs and Gymnures to Erinaceidae; and the Macroscelles or Elephant-mice of the Cape Colony form another group more allied to Tupaia than the rest. This last family is the most interesting. Anatomically belonging to this order, they externally resemble the squirrels so closely as to have been frequently mistaken for them. The grovelling Mole and creeping Shrew are as unlike the sprightly Tupaia, as it springs from branch to branch, whisking its long bushy tail, as it is possible to conceive. I intend further on to give an illustration of this little animal. The first we have on record concerning it is in the papers relating to Captain Cook's third voyage, which are now in the British Museum, where the animal is described and figured as Sciurus dissimilis; it was obtained at Pulo Condore, an island 100 miles from Saigon, in 1780.

Sir T. Stamford Raffles was the next to describe it, which he did under the generic name Tupaia—tupai being a Malayan word applied to various squirrel-like small animals—but he was somewhat forestalled in the publication of his papers by MM. Diard and Duvaucel. Dr. Anderson relates how Sir T. Raffles engaged the services of these two naturalists to assist him in his researches, on the understanding that the whole of the observations and collections were to be the property of the East India Company; but ultimately on this point there arose a disagreement between them, and the paper that was first read before the Asiatic Society of Bengal on the 10th of March, 1820, was drawn up by MM. Diard and Duvaucel, though forwarded by Sir T. Raffles, whose own paper on the subject was not read before the Linnean Society until the 5th of December of that year, nor published till 1821; therefore to the others belongs the credit of first bringing this curious group to notice.

They regarded it in the light of a true Shrew, disguised in the form and habits of a squirrel, and they proposed for it the name Sorex-Glis, i.e. Shrew-squirrel (Glis properly means a dormouse, but Linnaeus used it for his rodential group which he termed Glires); this was afterwards changed by Desmarest and Giebel to Gli Sorex and Glisosorex, which latter stands for one of the generic terms applied to the group. F. Cuvier, objecting to Tupaia, proposed Cladobates (signifying branch walkers), and Temminck, also objecting to Tupaia, suggested Hylogale (from Gr. hyla, forest, and gale, a weasel), so now we have four generic names for this one small group. English naturalists have however accepted Tupaia; and, as Dr. Anderson fairly remarks, though it is a pity that some definite rules are not laid down for the guidance of naturalists for the acceptance or rejection of terms, still those who reject Tupaia on the ground of its being taken from a savage tongue should be consistent, and refuse all others of similar origin. He is quite right; but how many we should have to reject if we did so—Siamanga in Quadrumana, Kerivoula in Cheiroptera, Tupaia in Insectivora, Golunda in Rodentia, Rusa in Ruminantia, and others! At the same time these names are wrong; they convey no meaning; and had they a meaning (which only Kerivoula or Kelivoulha, i.e. plantain-bat, has) it is not expressed in languages common to all western nations, such as the Latin and Greek. Tupaia is an unfortunate selection, inasmuch as it does not apply to one type of animal, but reminds me somewhat of the Madras puchi, which refers, in a general way, to most creeping insects, known or unknown.