2. NYCTOPHILUS, 173 small longitudinal sulcus, more defined in some specimens than in others, and especially large in immature animals (Plate XI. fig. 7). The small nose-leaf scarcely exceeds the diameter of the nasal aperture in height ; its general shape is broadly cordate, the broad extremity upwards and free, the front surface marked by a depression above each nasal opening.
In the form of the extremities and of the wing- and interfemoral membranes very similar to Plecotus auritus, the antebrachial membrane less developed, however.
Wings from the base of the toes; extreme tip of the tail free; calcaneum about three fourths the length of the tibia, with a small postcalcaneal lobe about the centre.
Muzzle very thinly covered with short hairs; the inner side of the ear-conch clothed with afew soft hairs, more thickly ranged along the semicircular ridge, near the inner margin of the ear, wing-membranes naked, except along the sides of the body. Fur remarkably similar to that of Plecotus auritus in colour and quality, and, as in that species, variable in shade. In most specimens the hairs on the upper surface are bicoloured, nearly black at the base, the terminal half light or dark brown; beneath, similar at the base, but the extremities of the hairs much paler than on the upper surface, very pale brown or even white. In the type of WV. unicolor, Tomes, the fur is dark olive-brown throughout on the upper surface, but this may be due to the specimen being immature; other specimens from Tasmania agree in the colour of the fur with those from Australia. The skeleton closely resembles that of Antrozous pallidus and Plecotus auritus. The tympanic bulle ossee are as large as in Plecotus, and almost wholly conceal the cochlea; the bony palate extends as far backwards as the middle of the zygomatic arch; muzzle very short in front of the infraorbital foramen; nasal and frontal bones flattened, slightly concave ; sagittal and occipital crests not prominent, more or less developed acccording to the age and size of the specimens.
The dentition is almost precisely similar to that of Scotophilus temminckii, the same shaped incisors close to the canines, the same narrow last molar, the first lower premolar small and similarly crushed in between the canine and second premolar. The ulna and fibula are reduced to thin fibro-cartilaginous threads; tail of seven vertebra.
Length (of an adult 2 from Port Essington), head and body 2", tail 1-8, head 0:8, ear 1” x 0'"6, tragus 0'"3 x 0-15, forearm 1'8, thumb 0:3; third finger—metacarp. 1-55, 1st ph. 065, 2nd ph. 0-9; fifth finger—metacarp. 1-5, lst ph. 0'°45, 2nd ph. 0'-35; tibia 08, foot 0'°35.
The above measurements are taken from the largest specimen examined by the writer. Other specimens are often considerably smaller, and the length of forearm appears to vary, in adult individuals, from 1"-6 to 1"°8, the ears from 095 to 1",
174 VESPERTILIONID 2.
Hub. The Australian Region; from the island of Timor to Tasmania, from West Australia to the Fiji Islands. NV. timoriensis, as above remarked, appears to vary in size, in the colour of the fur, and in the development of the glandular prominence behind the small nose-leaf. It is difficult with so few wellpreserved specimens to say whether these differences are due to age or sex, or whether they are characters of distinct races of this species. In the smaller specimens the sagittal and occipital ridges are scarcely developed, and in them also the transverse striz of the ear-conch appear less well marked, the groove along the centre of the glandular elevation behind the nose-leaf better defined, and the fur of the under surface of the body paler in colour. This might seem to be sufficient to separate the smaller specimens into a distinct species, as Tomes has done; but so many intermediate forms unite them to the larger examples that it is impossible to say to which species some of the specimens should be referred were this attempted to be carried out.
The depth of the sulci of the ear-conch, on which so much stress is laid by Tomes as a diagnostic character, appears to depend altogether on either age or the manner of preservation. Young animals have the transverse lines much less distinct, and they are always especially well marked in specimens which have been preserved in strong alcohol. In all other species of Bats the depth of the cranial ridges increases with age, in some cases to a very remarkable extent, and in this species there is evidently no exception to the rule.
At furthest, should the characters described by Tomes prove to be permanent at all ages, they could only be considered indicative of different races of WV. timoriensis, for the resemblances in all other respects are too close to allow separation into distinct species. a. f ad., al. Islands of Torres Straits. Purchased. . sk. Albany Island, Cape York.
c-e. ¢ & 9 ad. al. Cape York. Purchased.
f. fo ad., al. North-Australian Expedi- Dr. J. R. Elsey [C.]. tion.
gh. 8& QP ad. al. Port Essington. Earl of Derby [P.]. a. & ad., al. Port Essington. Mr. Allen {C.].
jy. sk.* W. Australia. Voy. ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror.’
k-o. sks. W. Australia.
ip. & ad., al. W. Australia.
q. 2 imm., al. (Labelled “ Nyctophilus leachii, Gray.”) r. 2 ad., al, Peak Downs, Queensland. Purchased. 8. sk Moreton Bay.
(Type of Nyctophilus gouldii, Tomes.)
t. 2 imm,, al. Rockhampton.
u. sk. Perth, W. Australia.
v, w. sk. King George’s Sound.
* Figured in Voyage of ‘Erebus’ and ‘ Terror.’
3. SYNOTUS, 175 v. 3 sk. King George’s Sound. F. M. Rayner, Esq. [C.]. y. sk. King George’s Sound. Patties ee z. sk, Adelaide, 8, Australia.
a’, imm. sk, Swan River. Capt. G. Gre [F.
o'. 2 imm., al. Swan River. Lieut. J. &. Roe [P.]. ec’. dad, al. N.S. Wales. Purchased.
@'. sk. Australia. Purchased.
e", f,g'. sks. Australia. Sir T. L. Mitchell [P.]. h', sk. P Australia, Haslar Collection.
v. $? ad, al, Gipps Land. Purchased.
J. 3 ad., al. Tasmania. R. Gunn, Esq. [P.].
kX’. 2 imm,, al. Tasmania. Dr. Milligaa (Eo) ?. g imm., al. (Labelled “Islands of the Pacific.”) (Type of Barbastellus pacificus, Gray.)
m'. 2 imm., al. Fiji Islands.
3. SYNOTUS.
Barbastellus, Gray *, Mag. Zool. § Bot. 1888, p. 494; Jerdon, Mammals of India, p. 47.
Synotus, Keys. §! Blas. Wirbelth. Europ. p.55; Wiegm. Archiv, 1839, p. 805; Dobson, Monogr. Asiat. Chiropt. p. 85 (1876). Crown of the head distinctly elevated above the short and obtuse muzzle. Nostrils opening on the upper surface at the extremity of the muzzle, in front of a naked space, bounded laterally by the raised edges of the very prominent sides of the face ; anteriorly the upper lip is divided on each side by a deep groove passing down from the nostril, and the intervening space between and below the nostrils is prominent and rounded (Plate XI. fig. 10). Inner margins of the ears uniting on the forehead slightly in front of the eyes ; the outer margin is also carried forwards in front of the eyes, terminating on the face above the upper lip, so that the eye is contained within the external ear; tragus triangular above and attenuated towards the tip. Feet slender, with long toes. Tail nearly as long or longer than the body. Skull considerably vaulted behind the short muzzle.
oe 2-2 1-1 2-2 3-8 Dentition. Ine. =, ¢. jj, pm. 5-5, M. 53 Range. The Palearctic Region.
* Although this genus was defined by Dr. J. E. Gray under the name Barbastellus before the term Synotys was used by Keyserling and Blasius, yet I agree with Prof. Peters that the latter name should be retained, because the former had been used many years previously to denote a genus very different from Synotus. In 1831 the genus Barbastellus was defined, having for its typo Barbastellus pacificus, Gray. In 1838, or pone? earlier, Dr. Gray discovered that B. pacificus was a synonym of Nyctophilus geoffroyi, Leach ey and, in his “‘ Revision of the Genera of Bats,” published in the Mag. Zool, & Bot. 1838, he transferred the term Barbastellus to another genus, which he then defined, and named as its type Vespertilio barbastellus, Schreb. But the name Barbastellus having once been applied to denote a certain genus, cannot be transferred from that genus to another (although the genus in question has been previously defined and named), but must remain as a synonym,
176 VESPERTILIONIDA.
1. Synotus barbastellus.
Vespertilio barbastellus, Schreb. Sdugeth. i. p. 168, pl. 55 (1775); Geoff. Ann. du Muséum, viii. p. 196 (1806) ; Montagu, Linn. Trans. 1808, p.71; Wagner, Suppl. Schreb. Séugeth. i. p. 486 (1844), v. p. 718 (1855) ; Zemm. Monogr. Mamm. ii. p. 202, pl. 48 (1885-41). Vespertilio leucomelas, Riippell, Atlas, p. 73 (1825). Barbastellus daubentonii, Bell, Brit. Quadrup. us 63 (1837). Barbastellus communis, Gray, Ann. §& Mag. Nat. Hist. ii. p. 494 (1838).
Synotus barbastellus, Keys. § Blas. Wirbelth. Europ. p. 55 (1889). Ears broad, as long as the head, laid forwards the tips extend to a point midway between the eye and the end of the muzzle; inner margins conjoined on the forehead by a low vertical band, projecting in front slightly beyond the eye; outer margin terminating abruptly between the eye and the upper lip, and at a point slightly in front of the eye, so that a line drawn from the most anterior part of the inner margin to the termination of the outer margin, above the mouth, passes in front of the eye; the inner margin is regularly convex and slants much backwards, the tip shortly truncated ; the outer margin is concave beneath the tip, with a small well-defined circular projecting lobe at the junction of the upper and middle thirds, beneath this straight to the outer end of the terminal lobe. Tragus very broad opposite the base of the inner margin, suddenly narrowed from without inwards opposite the middle of the straight inner margin, attenuated thence upwards to the tip, which is subacutely pointed ; the extremity of the tragus reaches as high as the small circular lobe projecting from the outer margin of the ear.
Wings to the base of the toes; toes more than half the length of the foot ; postcalcaneal lobe narrow; calcaneum extending half the distance between the foot and end of tail; tail as long as the head and body, projecting slightly beyond the membranes. On the upper surface the fur of the body extends as far as a line drawn from the middle of the humerus to the knee-joint; on the interfemoral long, extending backwards triangularly as far as half the length of the tail; beneath, the wing-membrane is covered so far as a line drawn from the elbow to the knee, and the interfemoral is clothed with long white hairs to a somewhat less extent than upon the upper surface. Fur, above and beneath, intensely black, the tips indistinctly greyish, the light shade more apparent beneath. On the base of the interfemoral beneath the hairs are white.
Upper incisors sloping inwards and forwards; upper inner incisors long, with a second cusp near the extremity posteriorly and externally; immediately posterior and external to this cusp the small unicuspidate acutely-pointed outer incisor is placed. The first upper premolar minute, in the inner angle between the closely approximated canine and second premolar. First lower premolar scarcely more than half the vertical height of the second premolar, and in transverse diameter not half its size.
4. PLECOTUS. 177 Length (of an adult g preserved in alcohol), head and body 1” 8, tail 1-8, head 0'-65, ear 0-7, tragus 0°35, thumb 0'°3, third finger 3'-1, fifth finger 2-3, tibia 0'-75, foot 0'"3. Hab. Middle and Southern Europe and Northern Africa and Arabia (England, France, Germany, Southern Sweden, Poland, Middle and Southern Russia, Spain, Italy, Arabia Petraa). Probably extending throughout the temperate regions of Asia and Northern Africa.
a. 2 ad., al. Epping Forest. H. Doubleday, Esq. [P.]. b. 9 ad., al. Cheshire. eae c-h. 3 & 9 ad, al. Darmsdorf, Silesia. Dr. Giinther [P.]. 2, ad. sk. Europe.
Jj. ad. sk.
2. Synotus darjelingensis.
Plecotus darjelingensis, Hodgson, Horsfield, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1855, xvi. p. 103.
Barbastellus darjelinensis, Dobson, Proc. Asiat. Soc. Beng. 1875, p. 85. Synotus dargelinensis, Dobson, Monogr. Asiat. Chiropt. p. 86 (1876). The ears, laid forwards, extend nearly one tenth of an inch beyond the end of the muzzle; in general shape quite similar to those of S. barbastellus, but the outer margin has no projecting lobe at the junction of its upper and middle third, and is uninterrupted by any abrupt projection trom the tip to its termination above the mouth; the tip is broadly rounded off, not truncated. Tragus, as in S. barbastellus, triangular, less attenuated above. Muzzle and nostrils quite similar to the European species, but the prominence between the nostrils in front is covered by short hairs, and the inner side of the ear-conch, along the inner margin, is covered with a band of moderately long hairs, extending more than halfway to the tip.
Length (of an adult 2 preserved in alcohol), head and body 2”, tail 1'°8, head 0'"65, ear 0'-75, tragus 0'-35, forearm 1'°6, thumb 0'-28, third finger 2'''9, fifth finger 2-2, tibia 0'°8, foot 0'°3. Hab. India (Darjiling, Khasia hills, Sikhim, Masuri, Simla) ; Yarkand.
a. @ ad., al. Darjiling. B. H. Hodgson, Esq. [P.]. b. ad. sk. India, Capt. Boys.
4. PLECOTUS.
Plecotus, Geoffroy, Descr.del’ Egypte, ii. p. 112 (1812); Keys. & Blas. Wiegm. oe 1839, p. 306; Blasius, Fauna Deutschlands, p. 38 (1857) ; Dobson, Monogr. Asiat. Chiropt. p. 83 (1876). Crown of the head elevated above the face-line; nostrils opening at the extremity of the muzzle, on the upper surface, in front of more or less deep grooves; ears very large, united above the forehead, the outer margin of the ear-conch ending abruptly near the angle of the mouth, the inner margin with a more or less promi- N
178 VESPERTILIONID&.
nent rounded projection directed inwards above the base; tragus very large, tapering upwards, with a lobe at the base of its outer margin, rounded, and placed half horizontally. cla eT es Ramet EN 6? I-71? 3—9 10+ 33 Skull considerably vaulted; bones forming the brain-case very thin ; occipital and sagittal crests scarcely developed. Range. Palearctic and Nearctic Regions.
Dentition. Ine.
Subgenus I. Przcortvs.
Nostrils in front of naked semilunate grooves on the upper surface of the muzzle. (Palearctic Region.)
1. Plecotus auritus.
Vespertilio auritus, Z. Syst. Nat, xii. p. 47; Schreb. Séugeth. (1775), p. 168, pl. 50; Geoffroy, Ann. du Mus, viii. p. 197 (1806); Desmarest, Mammalogre, p. 144 (1820).
Vespertilio otus, Bore, Is’s, 1825, p. 1206.
Vespertilia cornutus, Faber, Isis, 1826, p. 515. Vespertilio brevimanus, Jenyns, Trans. Linn. Soc. xvi. p. 55 (1828). Plecotus auritus, Geoffroy, Descript. del Eyypte, p. 118 (1812) ; Keys. §& Blas. Wiegm. Archiv, 1839, p. 306; Blasius, Fauna Deutsch. not (woodcut), pp. 87-41 (1857) ; Kinahan, Proc. Nat.-Hist. Soc. ublin, ii. p. 154 (1859); Dobson, Monogr. Asiat. Chiropt. p. 84 (1876).
mien egyptiacus, Is. Geoff. Guérin’s Mag. Zool. Plecotus peronii, Ls. Geoff. 1. c.
Plecotus christii, Gray, Mag. Zool. § Bot. ii. p. 495 (1838). Plecotus bonapartii, Gray, J. c.
Plecotus homochrous, Hodgson, Ann. § Mag. Nat. Hist. 1855, xvi. p-103, Head slightly raised above the face-line. ars very large, nearly as long as the forearm, conjoined by a low band across the forehead at the bases of their inner margins, regularly oval and rounded above, no emargination or concavity in upper third of the outer margin; the outer margin terminates behind the angle of the mouth, from which it is separated by a small wart; the inner margin develops, at a short distance above the base, a rounded prominent lobe directed inwards towards and almost touching its fellow of the opposite side; tragus very long and subacutely pointed, inner margin slightly convex, outer correspondingly concave in upper, convex in lower half, with a rounded lobule slightly above the base, directed downwards and outwards. A large wart above the eye. The nostrils at the anterior extremities of deep well-defined lunate depressions margined by raised rounded edges (Plate XI. fig. 9). Wings from the base of the toes; antebrachial membrane wide, anterior margin free throughout; feet slender, caleaneum extending less than half the distance between the foot and end of the tail; no postcalcaneal lobe; the last osseous caudal vertebra generally quite free.
+. PLUCOTUS. 179 : Fur, above and beneath, dark at the base; on the upper surface light shining brown, beneath pale ashy or dirty white. The colour of the extremities of the fur, above and beneath, appears to vary sometimes considerably, according to age and locality ; young individuals, and probably females also, are much darker than adult males. Specimens are occasionally found with a reddish tinge on the dorsal surface. Examples from Northern Africa and sandy districts in the neighbourhood of the Mediterranean and Caspian seas are much paler in colour throughout than those from moister countries. This I have frequently observed in specimens of Bats brought from desert regions.
Upper incisors parallel on each side; the inner long and unequally bifid, the smaller cusp external; the outer incisor scarcely half the length of the inner incisor, unicuspidate, not equalling the outer small cusp of the inner incisor in vertical extent, and scarcely one quarter its size; the second premolar exceeds the canine in transverse section, and is but slightly less than it in vertical extent; last upper molar about equal to half the antepenultimate molar; second lower premolar about two thirds the vertical extent of the first premolar, but scarcely half its transverse diameter ; third premolar longer than the second premolar, but less than the first molar.
Length, head and body 1'"8, tail 1'"8, head 0'°65, ear 1"-4 x 0'"65, tragus 0'-6 x 0'"2, forearm 1'"5, third finger 2"-65, fifth finger 2'"1, tibia 0:7, caleaneum 0"-7, foot 0'°35.
Hab. The Palearctic Region, extending from Ireland through Europe and North Africa to the Himalaya, and probably generally distributed throughout the temperate parts of Asia. Plecotus homochrovs, Hodgson, from the Himalaya, can only be distinguished by the slightly greater length of the ears and shortness of the thumbs. I believe it cannot be considered more than a variety of Pl. auritus.
a. 2 ad., al. London.
b-i. ¢ & ad.,al. Devonshire. Zool. Soc. Coll. je & ad, al. England.
hk. 3 ad, al. England. ; 1, m. ad. sks. England. Old Collection.
n, o. ad. sks. Bonchurch, I. of Wight Rev. C. A. Bury [P.1}. pg 9 ad.,al. Co. Longford, Ireland. G. E. Dobson, M.B. [P.]. r, & ad., al. Darmsdorf, Silesia. Dr. Giinther. | s. ad. sk. St. Mauria. M. Leon Galliard [P.]. t, ad. sk. St. Gothard. Mr. Brandt’s Coll.
wu. & imm., al. Sicily. Purchased.
vx. ad. sks. Europe. Leyden Museum.
y. ad. sk. Malta. Lord Arthur Hay [P.].
gc. 2 ad., al. Egypt. Rey. O. P. Cambridge [P.]. d. & ad., al. Egypt. — Wilkinson, Esq. [P.]}. e’. ad. sk. N. Africa. Fe Dr. Christie [P.].
(Type of Plecotus christit, Gray.) ; fi. fo ad. Aes of Adullam, Pales- Canon Tristram [C.]. . tine.
© ad., al. Nipal. (Lype of Pleevtus homochrous, \Lodgson). . ; n2
180 VESPERTILIONIDA.
c,d’. § ad, al. M, Lidth de Jeude.
e’, ad. sk. Haslar Hospital.
f'. ad. sk.
g'-k'. 3 & Q, al. No history.
l. skull. Darmsdorf. Dr. Giinther [P.].
m’, skull. M. Lidth de Jeude.
n'. skull.
o’. skull, No history.
p'. skeleton. Switzerland.
q’. skeleton. No history.
Subgenus IT. Cortnorminvs.
Nostrils in front of narrow grooves concealed by the greatly enlarged glandular prominences arising from the sides of the muzzle. ' (Nearctic Region.)
2. Plecotus macrotis.
Plecotus macrotis, Leconte, Cuvier, Anim. Kingd. (M‘Murtrie ed.), App. p. 431 (1831).
Plecotus lecontii e¢ townsendi, Cooper, Ann. Lyc. New York, 1837, pp. 72, 73.
Synotus macrotis et townsendi, Allen, Monogr. Bats N. America, p. 63 (1864).
Corinorhinus macrotis et townsendi, Allen, Proc. Acad. Nat. Set. Philad. 1865, p. 173.
Ears very long, about three fourths the length of the forearm, conjoined at the bases only, more narrowed towards the tip than in Pl, auritus, and rather shortly rounded off; above the base of the inner margin a slight blunt projection, or rather convexity, represents the position of the well-defined projecting lobe in that species: the outer margin is faintly concave in the upper one fifth beneath the tip, then gradually convex, again broadly and slightly concave opposite the lower third of the tragus, ending in a convex lobe behind the angle of the mouth, from which it is separated by a very distinct wart; tragus long, rather narrow, and subacutely pointed.
The glandular prominences between the nostrils and eyes are greatly developed in a vertical direction, and curve inwards over the grooves on the face behind the nasal apertures, so as to cover them and meet together above the muzzle (Plate XI. fig. 8); the nasal apertures are fringed with a narrow horizontal membrane of a paler colour than the surrounding integument. The depth of the upper lip is much greater in front than in Plecotus awritus, and more resembles that in Synotus barbastellus.
Wings to the metatarsus close to the base of the toes; calcaneum weak, termination not defined, the extreme tip of the tail alone projecting ; feet slender, no prominent callous tubercle near the ankle on the sole. The antebrachial membrane much less broad than in Pl. auritus, but its anterior margin is free throughout. The fur of the head does not extend in front of the ears, and the face is nearly naked, except along the upper lip; the ear-conch has a fringe of fine hairs on the inner margin. Above, the wing-mem-