206 PTEUorus eufus eukus. 



Gervais, Hift. 



^ , „^. u, i.^^. ^*.,.,^. ^~. , ^w„. , J,. — , V -~ — -„..., .. 



Madagascar^ ; Matschie, Megachir. pi. i. tigs. 4, 4 a, 4 6 (skull) 



(1899). 

 La C-irande Eoussette (Fsnii), Sr/anzin, Mem. 8oc. Mvs. d'Hist. Nat. 



Strassboui-f/, iii. pt. i. Mt^m. MM. p. 11 (1840: habits"). 

 Grosse chauve-soaiis noire et jaiine, Laillet, Madagascar, p. 29 



(1884). 



Diagnosis. — Skull arid external dimensions smaller (see measure- 

 ments on pp. 210, 211). Forearm 158-5-165-5 mm. //rtS. N. and 

 Central Madagascar. 



Specimens examined. — Eight, in the collections of the Lej'den and 

 British Museums, including the cotypes oi Pt. phaiops, Temm. 



Banr/e. — North and Central Madagascar : Majunga, Amburvi, 

 Nossi Be, Vohemar, Fianarautsoa. 

 Ty2:>e probably not in existence. 



Earliest histori/ in literature. — The records of this species in 

 literature date back at least to the first French attempts at a 

 colonisation of Madagascar, about the middle of the seventeenth 

 century; thus ib was briefly described and figured by Flacourt 

 (1658, op. s.c, chapter " Oyseaux de nuict") under its native name 

 " Fany " (by later writers usually spelt Fani, Fanny, Fanii, or 

 Fanihy) : Flacourt's illustration is probably the most imaginative 

 figure ever given of a bat. A tolerably good coloured figure of the 

 head of this species was published, nearly a century later, by 

 George Edwards in his 'Natural History of Birds' (1751, I. s. c). 

 It is one of the three species covered by the Linnean name 

 Vespertilio vampyrus (1758 and 1766, sec infra, pp. 219, 351). 



Pterojms rufus, E. Geoff. ; 180^. — Type locality, Madagascar. 

 Based on an " individu envoye par le citoyen Mace, naturaliste " 

 (no. 90 of Geoffroy's Catalogue). I have been iinable to find this 

 specimen in the Paris Museum, but Geoffroj's brief description of 

 its colour leaves no doubt whatever as to the identification of the 

 species. Only reference given by Geoffrey : Edwards, Great Bat 

 fi'om Madagascar. 



Fieropus eclwarclsi, E. Geoff. ; 1810. — Type locality, Madagascar. 

 In reality a renaming and redescription of the same author's 

 Pt. rufus, based ou an example " dont nous sommes redevables a 

 I'estimable naturaliste M. Mace," therefore most probably a re- 

 description of the very type of Pt. rufus (see above). Only 

 references: Edwards and Linnasus (F. vampyrus). — Temminck, in 

 1825 (Mon. Mamm. i.), put Pt. exlwardsi down as a synonym of 

 Pt. edidis (i. e. Pt. vampyrus), while at the same time he described 

 the true Pt. edwarchi under the name Pt. phaiops, and Pt. yiganteus 

 (Continental India) as Pt. meclius ; in 1837 (Mon. Mamm. ii.) he 

 recognized the validity of the Geofl'royan Pt. edwardsi, put his own 

 Pt. medins down as a synonym of this species, which therefore he 



* yi\sB]>e]t P/i'roft/s JlJia?ir:pS. 



