68 



MAMMALIA. 



obscure places. Their ordinary produce is two young at a birth, [one only in the frugivorous 

 species, and many others,] which cling to the mammae of their parent, [have their eyes closed 

 for a while,*] and are of large proportional size. They form a very numerous genus, present- 

 ing many subdivisions. First there require to be separated — 



The Roussettes {Pteropus, Briss.), — 



Which have cutting incisors to each jaw, and grinders with flat crowns, or rather the latter have 

 originally two longitudinal and parallel projections, separated by a groove, and which wear away by 

 attrition : accordingly they subsist in great part upon fruits, of which they consume a vast quantity ; 

 they also ably pursue small birds and quadrupeds : [a statement which much requires confirmation.] 

 They are the largest of the tribe, and their flesh is eaten. The membrane is deeply emarginated between 

 their legs, and they have little or no tail ; their index finger, shorter by half than the middle one, pos- 

 sesses a third phalanx, bearing a short nail (see fig. 9), which are wanting in other Bats ; but the following 

 fingers have each only two phalanges ; [their thumb is proportionally very large] ; they have the muzzle 

 simple, the nostrils widely separated, the ears middle-sized and without a tragus, and their tongue studded 

 with points that curve backwards ; their stomach is a very elongated sac, unequally dilated, [and their 

 intestines are much longer than in other Bats.] They have only been discovered in the south of Asia and 

 the Indian Archipelago ; [now, however, also in Japan, Australia, Madagascar, and the south and west 

 of Africa. 



The species are very numerous, and have been greatly elucidated by the investigations of Temminck and 



others, who have established most of them on a considerable number of specimens of all ages, and many 



anatomically. They produce early, and the sexes are separately gregarious, the young also associating apart 



from their parents as soon as they can provide for themselves. t] They divide into 

 1. Tailless Roussettes, with four incisors to each jaw ; all of which were comprehended by Linnaeus under 



his Vespertilio vampyrus. [More than twenty species are known, some of which exceed five feet across. 



One of the commonest in collections is] 

 The Black-bellied Roussette ( Pt. edulis, Geof.) — Of a blackish brown, deeper beneath [the fur crisp and 



coarsel ; nearly four feet in extent [sometimes, according to Temminck, upwards of five feet French, corre- 

 sponding to five feet and a half English]. It inhabits 

 the Moluccas and Isles of Sunda, where they are found 

 during the day suspended in great numbers to the trees. 

 To preserve fruit from their attacks, it is necessary to 

 cover it with nets. Their cry is loud, and resembles that 

 of a Goose. They are taken by means of a bag held to 

 them at the end of a pole ; and the natives esteem their 

 flesh a delicacy ; but Europeans dislike it on account of 

 its musky odour. The flesh of the Common Roussette 

 (Pt. vulgaris, Geof.), an inhabitant of the Mauritius, 

 has been compared to that of the Hare and Partridge. 



2. Roussettes with a short tail, and four incisors to each 

 jaw : [also generally less than the smaller species of 

 the preceding. At least six are known, one of which 

 only (Pt. amplexicaudatus), has the tail moderately con- 

 spicuous : the muzzle is comparatively somewhat shorter. 

 These two divisions comprehend all that are now 

 ranged in Pteropus ; and one species only (Pt. macro- 

 ccphalus, Ogilby), from the Gambia, presents any marked 

 departure from the general character, in the great size of 

 its head, the superior magnitude and solidity of its 



canines, and separation of the molars : allied to it is Pt. gambianus, Ogilby, from the same locality, and Pt. 



Whitei, Ben., which has a singular tuft on each side of the neck. The name Epomopkorus, Ben., is applied to 



these three species by Gray.] 



3. According to the indicia of M. GeofFroy, we now separate from the Roussettes 



The Cephalots (Cephalotes, Geof.), — 

 "Winch have [nearly] similar grinders, but in which the index finger, short, and consisting of three 



* Perhaps the frugivorous species form an exception to this. The ' t The same appears to be the case with some of the insectivorous 

 others are naked at birth, but have the limbs strong, and adapted for I Bats of Europe. — Ed. 

 clinging to their parent. 



Fig. 8.— He»d of Pteropui eduiis. 



