VOL. XVIII, PP. 227-228 DECEMBER 9, 1905 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



A NEW BAT FROM GERMAN EAST AFRICA. 



BY GERRIT S. MILLER, JR. 



' By permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 



Two bats of the genus Lavia collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott 

 at Taveta, German East Africa, in 1889, prove to differ too 

 considerably from the West African Lavia frons to be regarded 

 as the same species. They may be known as: 



Lavia rex sp. nov. 



1892. Megaderma frons True, Proc. TJ. S. Nat. Mus. , XV, p. 469, October 

 26, 1892 (part). 



Type from Taveta, (*ewm East Africa. No. fW> United States National 

 Museum, cT adult (in alcohol). 1889. Dr. W. L. Abbott. 



Characters. Like the West African Lavia frons (Geoffrey) but consider 

 ably larger (forearm 60 instead of 56, mandible 17.8 instead of 15.2), and 

 with disproportionately heavier teeth. 



Color. (Skin of topotype, No. 18,992, not sexed) : Fur everywhere drab- 

 gray (that of belly a little darker than that of back) tipped with ochraceous- 

 buff. On middle of back and neck and on posterior half of belly the 

 ochraceous-buff is so inconspicuous that it scarcely modifies the ground 

 color, but on face, sides of neck, entire chest and throat, and along border 

 of interfemoral membrane it strongly predominates. At shoulder the wood- 

 brown fades to buffy white, forming an inconspicuous light shoulder spot. 

 The type does not appear to differ appreciably in color from the dry 

 specimen, though it has been subject to the action of alcohol for more than 

 fifteen years. 



Ears, membranes, etc. Probably not different from those of Lavia frons. 

 Dr. F. W. True has already noted the peculiar broadened, serrated form 

 45 PROC. BIOL. Soc. WASH., Vol.. XVIII, 1905. (227) 



