28 bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



carpal, 61.5, 60; 1st phalanx, 32.3, 31; 2d phalanx, 37-5, 36.5; 5th digit, 

 metacarpal, 60, 59; 1st phalanx, 30, 29; 2d phalanx, 29, 27.5; tibia, 41, 40.6. 



Pteropus ariel, sp. nov. 



Type. — Adult male (skin and skull), No. 10,565, Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology; collected at Male Atoll, Maldive Archipelago, by H. B. Bigelow, A. 

 Agassiz Expedition, December 24, 1901. 



General Characters. — Color essentially as in "Pteropus giganteus (Briinn.), but 

 size smaller; rostrum much bluuter and shorter, with a consequent crowding of 

 the cheek teeth. 



Color. — Skin of face, muzzle, and chin black, thinly clothed with black and 

 burnt-umber hairs ; throat and crown of head burnt umber, passing into ochraceous 

 and ochre yellow on the nape and shoulders ; back black, with scattered grayish 

 hairs and posteriorly with a slight admixture of brown hairs (nearly burnt umber). 

 Chest and abdomen ferruginous or orange rufous, becoming blackish about the 

 anal region and on the sides of the body. Membranes and ears black. 



Skull and Teeth. — Skull slightly narrower with narrower brain case and more 

 slender zygomata as compared with Indian specimens of P. giganteus from the 

 Koolloo Valley. The sagittal crest is as strongly developed and the teeth are as 

 large as in P. giganteus, but the rostrum is conspicuously shorter and relatively 

 broader, so that it does not taper as noticeably as in the continental species. In 

 consequence of the shortened rostrum, the tooth row is also shortened and the 

 teeth are more crowded. 



Measurements. — External measurements of the type skin (measurements in 

 parentheses are from a skin of P. giganteus of approximately the same age, from 

 Koolloo Valley, India) : ear, 30 (31.5) ; forearm, 160 ( - ) ; thumb, 63 (73.5) ; 

 2d digit, 115 (130); 3d digit, metacarpal, 105 (114); 1st phalanx, 77 (80.5); 

 2d phalanx, 112 (108.6); 4th digit, metacarpal, 107 (115); 1st phalanx, 64 

 (69); 2d phalanx, 66 (65 +) ; 5th digit, metacarpal, 112 (119); 1st phalanx, 

 45 (52) ; 2d phalanx, 52 (54) ; tibia, 74 ( - ); foot, 41 (47). 



Cranial measurements of the type (and in parentheses those of an adult from 

 Koolloo Valley, India) : greatest length, 66 ( - ) ; basal length, 63 ( - ) ; inter- 

 orbital constriction, 8 (8) ; zygomatic breadth, 36.7 (40.8) ; mastoid breadth, 

 21.4 (22); palatal notch to incisive foramen, 31 (36.4); mandible, 54 (56.5); 

 maxillary tooth row (exclusive of incisors), 25.3 (28.3); mandibular tooth row 

 (exclusive of incisors), 29.3 (31). 



Distribution. — So far as known, this species is confined to the Maldive 

 Archipelago. 



Remarks. — In addition to the type there is an immature female in the collec- 

 tion, also from Male Atoll. The sutures are still plainly visible in the skull, and 

 a comparison with similar skulls of P. giganteus from Koolloo Valley, India, shows 

 that the nasals, in addition to being much shorter, are wider in the middle, and 

 expand less abruptly at the distal end. (See PI. 1, Figs. 1-4.) 



