Vol. XVIII, pp. 229-230 December 9, 1905 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



(uj L 



A NEW GENUS OF BATS FROM SUMATRA. ; % V 



BY GERRIT S. MILLER, JR. 



By permission of tiie Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 



On September 9, 1903, Dr. W. L. Abl)ott found two small 

 bats roosting in the abandoned nest of a broad bill in heavy 

 forest on the banks of the Kateman River, eastern Sumatra. 

 These specimens represent a new species l)elonging to a hitherto 

 unknown genus allied to Kerivoula but strikingly distinct. 



Phoniscus gen. nov. ( Vesper lUlonidx). 



Type. — Phoniscus alrox sp. nov. 



Characters. — Like Kerivoula but with upper canine strongly compressed, 

 the shaft with deep longitudinal groove on outer side and with conspicuous 

 posterior cutting edge, the length of the tooth so increased that the point 

 extends noticeal)ly beyond exposed portion of lower canine when jaws are 

 closed, and in life enters a distinct pocket in the lower lip; lower incisors 

 with crowns relatively longer than in Kerivoula, that of the inner tooth with 

 four w'ell developed cusps ; skull with braincase so elevated anteriorly that 

 the highest portion is at middle instead of in occii)ital region. 



Remarks. — The peculiar shape and greatly increased size of the upper 

 canine, together with the very unusual four-cusped structure of the inner 

 mandibular incisor, sufticiently distinguish this genus from Kerivoula. 

 But the modifications are not confined to these teeth, as the premolars, 

 both above and below, have become more pointed and trenchant, while 

 the whole anterior portion of the rostrum is strengthened. Contrary to 

 what might be expected, the mandible and lower canines remain un- 

 changed. 



46— Pkoc. Bioi,. Soc. Wash., Vol. XVIII, 1905. (229) 



