Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon Part 18

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 s.h.i.+ning, 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 s.p.a.ces 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 s.p.a.ce 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.

Dent.i.tion: 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_.]

Dent.i.tion: 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 a.s.sistance 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.