220 TTEROPUS NiaEK. 



Most of the earlier post-Liunean writers (Schreber, Erxlebcn, 

 Boddaert, Gmelin, Kerr, &c.) divide " vampyrus " into three varie- 

 ties : a larger, which is Pi. niyer, or a mixture of Pt. nif/er aud 

 Pt. vampyrus, sometimes also Pt. rufus ; a smaller {Pt. subniyer) ; 

 and a straw-yellow {Eidolon helvum). Schreber, Erxleben, and 

 Gmelin designated these varieties by letters only (A, B, C, or a, /3, 

 -y) ; Kerr was apparently the first to distinguish them by technical 

 names (niger, suhntger, helvus). 



VespertiUo vampirus niger, Kerr : 1792. — Based by Kerr on 

 Schreber's figure (vol. i. pi. xliv.) of V. vampip-us var. A, which is 

 a copy of Buffon's plate (vol. x. pi. xiv.) of La Roussette. The type 

 locality of this latter, viz. lleunion, must, therefore, be fixed as the 

 type locality of V. v, niger. Most of the synonyms given by Kerr 

 under the heading V. v. niger (Clusius, Brisson, Daubenton) also have 

 reference to the present species ; the rest partly (Seba, Pennant) 

 to Pt. vampyrus, partly (Boutins) to a Flying Lemur. 



VespertiUo caninus, Blumenbach ; 1797. — Name proposed in 

 lieu of the Linnean V. vampyrus, because this bat " blosz von 

 Baumfriichten lebt und also schlechterdings nicht Vampyr genannt 

 werdeu kann." Diagnosis a verbal copy from Linne ; references 

 three, viz. Linne's vampyrus [i. e. Pt. vampyrus, niger, and r«/«.s], 

 Bufl'on's lloussette [P<. niger'], and Schreber's pi. xliv. [Pt. niger], 

 — Goldfuss's plate of " V. caninus Blumenb." (1809, 1. s. c.) is a 

 copy of Schreher's plate xliv., of V. vampyrus var. A, i. e. Pt. niger. 



Pteropus fuscus, E. Geoffrey ; 1803. — Type locality, lleunion. 

 The following statements in the diagnosis are sufficient for an 

 identification of the species : " des polls roux [in the description 

 ' roux-jaunatres '] sur la face, autour de I'anus, et sur les parties 

 laterales du dos." Based by Geoffro}- on three specimens in the 

 collection of the " Museum national d'histoire naturelle," viz., two 

 mounted specimens (wings expanded), sent from lleunion by 

 de la Nux (nos. 86 and 87), and a third " envoye de Madagascar, 

 par le citoyen Mace, naturaliste " (no. 88) ; in addition, the Museum 

 possessed some embryos in alcohol (no. 89). As mentioned above, 

 Buffon's specimen of the Roussette (mounted, wings expanded ; 

 ancient Royal Cabinet) was obtained in Reunion by de la Nux ; 

 since also two of Geoffrey's cotypes of Pt. fuscus (both mounted, 

 wings expanded) had been sent from Reunion by de la Nux, it is 

 possible that the former specimen was identical with one (no. 86 

 or 87) of the latter. Geoffrey's specimen no. 88, stated to have 

 been sent from Madagascar, was probably a dealer's specimen ; the 

 fact that Geoffroy in 1810, on redescribing Pt. fuscus under the 

 name Pt. vulgaris, gave as habitat only '' I'ile de France et celle 

 de Bourbon," without any reference to the Madagascar specimen, 

 may indicate that he was himself in doubt as to the correctness of 

 this locality. None of the s})ecimens I have seen in the Paris 

 Museum can be identified with Geoffrey's cotypes of Pt. fiiscus. 



VespertiUo mauritianus, Hermann ; 1804. — Type localit}', Mau- 

 ritius. Based on MS. notes by Commerson. The words " capite 

 dorsique lateribus rufis," together with the locality, exclude all 

 doubt as to the identification. 



