Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon - Robert Armitage Sterndale 8 стр.

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.

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.

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, 2¾ inches; tail, 1¼; 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.

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.

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 TempletoniiKellaart) 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.

HABITAT.India generally; Ceylon and Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.The fur with three shadesbuff, 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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., 11/4; can., 11/11; premolars, 22/22; molars, 33/33.

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 ¾ inch; forearm, 1¾.

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."

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., 11/11; premolars, 11/22; molars 33/33.

HABITAT.All over India, Burmah and Malayana.

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, 2½; expanse, 13.

Frequents old ruins, caves, and clefts in rocks.

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

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 Emballonuridæ.)

Dental formula: Inc., 11/4; can., 11/11; premolars, 22/22; molars, 33/33; premaxillaries cartilaginous, supporting only one pair of weak incisors with a gap between them.

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.

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 3½; 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.

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.