86 MEGADERMA. 



ous expansion, which forms a vertical process posteriorly. Lower 

 lip projecting slightly beyond the upper. Ears large, partially 

 connected ; tragus long, bifid. Index finger with a short bony 

 phalanx. Toes subequal ; the outer with two, the others with 

 three phalanges. Calcaneum distinct. Tail very short, only 

 discernible in skeletons. Interfernoral membrane large, concave 

 behind. 



Dentition. I. j, C.'^j P- ^(Australian and Oriental Regions) 

 or J-=| (Ethiopian Region), M. |j= 28 or 26. 



Habits. Carnivorous and insectivorous. Some, probably all, 

 of the members of this genus are sanguinivorous and carnivorous, 

 feeding not only on insects but also on smaller kinds of Bats and 

 other small Mammals, and even Frogs and Fishes, while it may 

 be presumed that small Birds and Reptiles would prove equally 

 acceptable. This habit has been specially noticed by several 

 observers in the Indian M. lyra. 



1. MEGADERMA GIGAS, Dobson (1880). 

 Great Blood- sucking Bat. 



Lower jaw projecting beyond the upper. Ears considerably 

 longer than the head, conjoined for nearly half the length of the 

 inner margin, oval and rounded off above. Tragus large, bifid, 

 the posterior lobe long, narrow, and acutely pointed, the anterior 

 lobe scarcely half the length of the posterior, broad at the base, 

 convex in front, and obtusely rounded above. Nose-leaf with 

 convex sides, the anterior concave disc large, the external margin 

 thickened and adherent to the muzzle beneath ; base of the longi- 

 tudinal process cordate. Extremity of the second finger extending 

 beyond the middle of the first phalanx of the third finger. Wing- 

 membrane from the back of the foot. Tail rudimentary. Inter- 

 femoral membrane large. A well marked postorbital process not 

 perforated by a foramen. Terminal third of the fur above pale 

 grayish-brown, beneath almost white, as also are the ears, nose- 

 leaf, and membranes. 



Dimensions. Head and body about five and a third inches ; 

 forearm about four and a fifth inches. 



Habitat. Wilson's River, Central Queensland. 



Reference. Dobson, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1880, p. 461, pi. xlvi. 



figs, a (animal), b (upper vieiv of skull). 



Family IV. VESPERTILIONID^E. 



Nasal apertures simple, crescentic or circular 1 , situated at th e 

 extremity of the muzzle, without cutaneous appendages. Ear 8 

 large or medium, generally separate, with rather large tragi. 



