50 MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC WORLD 



Sumatra eastward to Celebes and the Philippines. Melonycteris 

 of the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomons has very dark — 

 almost blackish — underparts ; and Nesonycteris from the same 

 group of islands is cinnamon-colored above and gray be- 

 neath. 



The Long-tailed Fruit Bat (Notopteris) of the eastern 

 Melanesian Islands, resembles the spinal-winged bat (Dobsonia) 

 both in having no index claw and, as its technical name implies, 

 in having the wing membranes attached along the spine. The 

 tail is about as long as the forearm, which is two to three 

 inches. The small fruit bats (Macroglossus and allies) of this 

 long-tongued group feed on the juices of soft fruits and on 

 the nectar of flowers. 



Insectivorous Bats. Suborder Microchiroptera 



The insect-eating bats are usually of small size, although 

 in a few kinds the length of the head and body reaches five and 

 one-fourth inches and the wing-spread may be about thirty 

 inches. With the exception of the false vampire of Australia, 

 the insectivorous bats of the Pacific islands are small. The 

 cheek-teeth have sharp cusps, arranged in W-patterns when 

 viewed from above, and these teeth are squarish rather than 

 oblong. The index finger has never more than two joints and 

 has no claw; in all except the first family (Rhino pomidce) the 

 index finger is composed of the metacarpal bone only (see 

 fig. 20). The tail is usually about as long as the head and 

 body. 



Nine families and more than thirty genera of these bats 

 occur in the region included in this discussion. Many of the 

 genera have so many species that lack of space prevents com- 

 plete description. The families and well-marked subfamily 

 groups are described beyond. Genera are listed in the index. 



