COLOUR PHASES OF rUJi: RUFOUS JLOIl{>ESJlOE-BA'l\S. 261 



that one of the Horseslioe-Bats most richly represented in the Sur- 

 vey collections, viz., llh. roii.vi, is a species which exhibits tlie colour 

 extremes in their strongest contrasts, and at tlie same time presents 

 the widest range of intermediate phases. The number of skins of 

 this bat thus far brought together during tlie progress of the 

 Siu'vey amounts to 98 ; in addition there are 18 specimens preserv- 

 ed in alcohol, and I have had six do.ted skins from other sources, 

 giving a total of 122 specimens. All specimens are adult, repre- 

 senting every degree of wear of the teeth, from the practically un- 

 worn condition (" stage I," i.e., individuals about six months old*) 

 to the stage in whicli the crowns are worn down to the gums 

 (" stage V, " four and a half year old individuals). 46 are males, 

 76 females. They were obtained in South Mysore (Seringapatam, 

 34); South Mahratha Country (Devikop, 12) ; various places in 

 North Kanara (Gersoppa, Hulekal, Sirsi, Barchi, Dandeli, Potoli, 

 Yellapur, 72) : Savautvadi (Nerur, 3), and Koukau, (Asgani, 1), — 

 places sufficiently close together to be regarded, even in the 

 narrowest sense of the term, as one geographical district. They 

 all belong to one subspecies, i?^, rorm 5wmf, and all the Survey 

 specimens (116) were collected by Mr. Guy C. Shortridge. It is 

 one of the finest series of specimens of any form of Ixliinuloiolius that 

 has ever passed through my hands. 



Although certainly large and varied enough to illustrate the 

 remarkable variability of coloiu- shown by Rh. rouxi, this series is 

 on the other hand not complete enough to allow one to follow the 

 changes in the fur through ever}^ month of the year, It was not, 

 it should be remembered, collected for this special purpose, but 

 simply as part of the general Mammal Survey of this portion of 

 India. Only six months are repi-esented in the series, viy.., Octo- 

 ber, November, January, Febniary, April and May, that is, the 

 cold season (about October to Januar}'^ and February) and the hot 

 and dry season (February to May) are represented, whereas there is 



* See my paper. ' On the determination of age in Bats, " this Journal, ontea. 



t The distribution of Bh. rouxi, so far as it is as yet traceable; is as follows: — 

 It is krown from many places in Ceylon : in the Peninsula from the Nil^iri Hills 

 in the south, through South Mysore, South Mahratha Country, Xorth Kanara, 

 Savantvadi, and Konkan, as t&v north as Bombay. Ceylon specimens are apparent- 

 ly indistinguishable from those from India proper, and I refer them all to the 

 subspecies Rh- r. rouxi (with the necessary reservation that I have not yet had an 

 i:)pportunity of examining Temminck's types in the Leyden Museum). Xorth of 

 Bombay there isabig gap in the known distribution of the species, though whether 

 it is a real breach in the area inhabitated by this bat, or merely a gap in our 

 material, it is impossible to say. Passing north from Bombay we meet the species 

 again in Masuri (Dehra Dun), Kumaon, Nepal, Darjiling and Bengal ; and further 

 i-ast it turns up again in South China (Anhwei, Lower Yangtse). Specimens frOm 

 all theseplaces (Masuri to Anhwei) are distinguishable as a subspecies {Rh. r, sini- 

 cixs). It is possible, though by no means certain, that the t«o subspecies are con- 

 nected with each other along the east coast of India, which has not yet been 

 worked by the Survey. 



