42 M. C. COOKE ON THE HAIRS OF INDIAN BATS. 



think that the tail of the bat which he had seen as yielding the true 

 " Hair of Indian bat," was full two inches in length. The tail in 

 this species is about that length, the naked portion extending beyond 

 the membrane, being two inches and a quarter. 



The fifth group includes the one genus Nycticejus, the hairs of 

 which present no affinity to those of either the preceding or suc- 

 ceeding group, but rather, perhaps, with those of the third. 



All the species of Nycticejus which I have examined possess hair 

 of a very similar character. It is, in fact, difficult to indicate any 

 specific features, whilst generically, or in as far as the whole group 

 is concerned, they possess a character which appears to be peculiar 

 to them. The edges are deeply serrated, the scales appear to be 

 irregular, but very indistinct, and when mounted in balsam, there 

 is certainly, in some lights, an appearance of imbrication. I am, 

 therefore, not prepared to say that the scales are cylindrical, nor 

 can I affirm that they partake of the character of imbricated plates. 

 I am disposed to think that the imbricated appearance is a decep- 

 tion due to the very great transparency of the hairs in balsam. 



The last group is a large one, and includes the genera Scotophilus, 

 Lasmriis, Kerivoula, Ves2')ertilio, and Plecotus. The margins of 

 the scales are usually obhque, darkened with deposits of pigment, 

 and, especially in Plecotus, are sometimes only semi-cylindrical and 

 alternate. The serratures at the edges of the hairs are seldom 

 opposite, and the hairs themselves are slender. When mounted in 

 balsam the presence of pigment in the scales is very distinct. 

 These are all small bats, some of them the smallest of known species, 

 and I am not sure that I could determine from an examination of 

 the hair alone whether an individual was a Scotophilus, a Kerivoida, 

 or a Vespertiiio. Indeed I do not think that zoologists themselves 

 are quite agreed as to the limits and distinctions of the different 

 genera in this group. One calls Lasmrus a Vespertiiio, another 

 calls Kerivoula a Vespertiiio, and another charges a fom-th with 

 making a S-cotopliilus a Kerivoula, whilst a fifth removes a Vesper- 

 tiiio to a new genus, and gives it a new name. This uncertainty 

 shows that they are all very closely allied, and of this the hairs 

 appear to afford corroborative evidence. 



Having enumerated all the species of Asiatic bats of which I 

 have examined the hairs (and which for convenience are grouped at 

 the close of this paper), it remains for me to indicate those of 

 which I am in ignorance. Xantharpyia amplexicaudatais a Malayan 



