430 BURMA, ITS PEOPLE AXD PRODUCTIOXS. 



probaWy impqualli'd by any otbcr mammal. Dr. Dobson once tboiight that this 

 soasonal golden yellow fur iu the Chirnptera was rcstrieted to the pregnant fomalua 

 (P.Z.S. 1873, p. 250), but lie subse(juently thus moflifies his former opinion, 

 " However, during the second Yunau Expedition, Dr. Anderson obtained seVeral 

 males of this .species in the same cave, all of which possessed this golden yellow 

 colour, while males and females, obtained at the same time in adjoining caves, were of 

 the common black and white kind. These veiy ditfereutly coloured animals differed, 

 however, in no other respect, agreeing in structure in all respects and in measure- 

 ments. The conditions under which this remarkable ditferenco in colour occurs are 

 tlierefore still unexplained ; but the golden-yellow colour may be developed equally 

 in males and females when the sexes como togethei', which may not occur at the same 

 season for all " (Mon. Asiat. Chir. p. 71). 



Length of adult male — head and body TO ; tail I'l inches. 



In I<icobar specimens the tail is 1-2. 



The whole of India and Burma, ranging to Amoy. 



Dobson remarks, "As P. fidva can be distinguished from P. lu-olor by its larger 

 ears only, I am unable to consider it more than a subspecies." 



Family NycteridsB. 



Bats with distinct nose-leafs ; large united ears with well-developed tragi. 

 Upper incisors absent, or very small, in the centre of the space between the canines. 

 Molars well developed with acute W -formed cusps. 



Dentition, I. $ or * ; C. f; P.M. i or ; ; M. f. 



MEGADERMIN^. Tail very short. ' 



Megadeema, Geoffroy. 



Nostrils at the bottom of a cavity at the end of the muzzle, concealed by the 

 base of an erect cutaneous process. Tail short, in the base of the large interfemoral 

 membrane. 



Dentition, I. f ; C. f ; P.M. J or f ; M. f . 



M. spasma, L. 



31. trifolmm, Geoffr. 



M. PhilippineHsis, Waterhouse. 



Colour pale slaty blue, paler below. 



Length of head and body, 3-4 inches. 



Inhabits Tenasscrim and the Malay Peninsula, etc. 



This species closely resembles 2£. hjra. Geoff., which inhabits the whole of India, 

 differing from it only in trifling points. Whether both species range into Arakan and 

 Pegu is not known. 



In a paper " On the Sanguivorous and Predaceous Habits of the Bats of the 

 Genus Megaderma" (J.A.S.B. vol. xi.) the following interesting remarks are made by 

 Mr. Blyth on the closely allied J/, li/ra, which apply to habits no doubt possessed by all 

 its congeners. " Chancing one evening to observe a rather large bat enter an outhouse, 

 from which there was no other egress than by the doorway, I was fortunate in being 

 able to procure a light, and thus to proceed to the capture of the animal. Upon 

 finding itself pursued, it took three or four turns round the apartment, when down 

 dro]iped what at the moment I supposed to be its young, and which I deposited in 

 my handkerchief. After a somewhat tedious chase, I then secured the object of my 

 pursuit, which proved to be a line fcmialc of Megaderma hjra. I then looked to the 

 other bat, which I had picked up, and to my considerable surprise found it to be a 

 small J'«Ayvf/7///o, neaily allied to the ' Pipistielle ' of Europe, which is exceedingly 

 abundant not only here, but ap])arently throughout India.' The individual now 

 referred to was feeble from loss of blood, which it was evident the Megaderma had been 



' Vesperugo alramus, Tern. 



