322 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



PTEROPIDAE. 



Epomophorus neumanni Matscjiie. 



Epomophorus neumanni Matschie, Megachiroptera des Berliner Mus. 

 fur Naturkunde, Berlin, 1899, p. 50. 



On the Meru River where it flows through arid plains to the Guaso 

 Nyiro, we found a small colony of fruit bats. There were about 

 twenty in all, old and young of both sexes, all hanging from the mid- 

 ribs of the lowermost fronds of a large palm allied to the sago palm 

 that grew here in the stream bed. 



The pale brownish tint of the bats corresponded well with the color 

 of the faded palm leaves, and the great fronds above cast a fair amount 

 of shade. When disturbed they scattered and alighted again in differ- 

 ent places, some on the higher twigs of the thorn trees by the brink 

 of the stream, others among the green fronds of a younger palm. 

 Several straddled the midrib of the palm leaf, clinging by the hind 

 feet. Others, when more at ease, depended from one foot only. At 

 all times, though resting, they seemed alert during the day, and were 

 ready to fly if too closely approached. On the morning following the 

 discovery of these bats, I again visited their roost and found some ten 

 or more of them hanging side by side along the midrib of a palm frond. 

 They were awake, but did not fly until I had approached almost 

 within arm's length when simultaneously they scattered in every 

 direction. 



Those that were preserved seem a trifle larger than Matschie de- 

 scribes for neumanni from the coastal region of British and German 

 East Africa, but otherwise they agree closely enough with his de- 

 scription. The forearm of the male measures 83.5 mm., of the females, 

 80, 81, as against 77-80 and 73-78 respectively as given by the de- 

 scriber. 



Epomophorus pusillus Peters. 



Epomophorus pusillus Peters, Monatsb. K. Akad. Wissensch. Berlin, 

 1867, p. 870. 



A single adult male was taken on the Meru River, about a day's 

 march above its junction with the Guaso Nyiro. The stream here 

 flows through an arid grassy plain, and its banks are choked with a 

 dense growth of vines and small trees with here and there a palm allied 



