164 TTEROPUS SUBNIGER, 



of neck, and sides of foreneck are unmixed crenmy white, forming 

 a collar ver)- sharply defined from and contrasting with the hack, 

 and interrupted only for a rather narrow space on the middle of 

 the foreneck ; concealed base of hair of mantle, as usual, seal- 

 brown. Similar variations in the colour of the mantle are seen in 

 the closely related Ft. dasymallus (above p. 161) ; in both species 

 they depend on the greater or less length of the pale tips to the 

 hairs ; if long, the pale-coloured tips completely cover the dark base 

 of the fur, making the mantle (in ft. /o?'?hosms) appear pure creamy- 

 white ; if short, the dark base of the fur shows more or less 

 through, making the colour of the mantle mixed dark brown and 

 creamy-white, much less contrasting with that of the back. More 

 material is required to decide whether in the present species these 

 differences are merely individual (as is the case in Pt. dusymaJlns), 

 or perhaps sexual. 



Measurements. On pp. 170, 171. 



Specimens examined. Three, in the collection of the British 

 Museum. 



Range. Formosa (Taku). 



Coiypes in collection. 



History in literature. — A male and female of this species were 

 presented to the Zoological Society's Gardens, Jan. 9. 1873, by the 

 Kev. Mr. llitchie, of Taku, Formosa. The male was kept alive till 

 October 4th, 1879, the female died presumably a few months later. 

 A coloured plate of these two specimens was published, in 1873, by 

 Sclater (Z. s. c), who named the species Pt. formosus, without de- 

 scription; the specific name probably was jnoposed chiefly on account 

 of its similarity to the name of the habitat of the species. The 

 plate does not give a correct idea of the colour of the fur. The 

 earliest description is that published by Dobson, in 1878. A third 

 specimen, also from Formosa, was presented to the Society's Gardens, 

 Dec. 1, 1891, by Mr. Thos. Perkins. The skin of a female speci- 

 men, according to a note on the label, " brought alive, said to have 

 come from Formosa," was ))resented to the British Museum, in 

 1892, by Mr. J. de La Touche. So far (December, 1908), these 

 seem to be the only examples on record. 



a. S ad. al. ; skull. Taku, Formosa Zool. Soc. Gardens. 80.0. 25. 7. 



(Ritchie). 

 h. 5 ad. al. ; skull. Taku, Formosa Zool. Soc. Gardens. 80.11.26.1. 

 _ [Ritchie). 



(a, b : Cott/pes of species.) 

 c. 5 ad. sk.; skull. Formosa. J. de La Touche [P.J. 92.2.1.1. 



16. Pteropus subniger, Kerr. 



Pteropus rubricolUs, Dobson, Cat. Chir. B. M. p. 24. 



La Roussette a col rouge,- Brisson, Rm/h. Anim. p. 217 (1756: 



Reunion) ; id., op. cit. 2 ed. p. 154 (1762: Reunion). 

 La RougettP, Btiffon, Hi't. Aaf. x. pp, 5.5, 7fl, 82, pi. xvii. (animal) 



