224 PTERorrs melanotcs. 



mantle aud centre of breast and belly contrasting with general 

 dark colour of pelage. The Andaman species (Pt. tytleri) is either 

 entirely blackish or with some indication of a brighter tinge in the 

 mantle ; general size smaller. The Nias species {Pt. niadicus) is 

 in all essential characters similar to Pt. melanotus, but with a con- 

 spicuous admixture of greyish in the dark-coloured parts of the fur. 

 In the Engano species (Pt. modigliann) the fur is longer and uniform 

 blackish, the size smaller than Pt. melanotus. In the extreme 

 south-eastern species, Pt. natalis (Christmas Island), the dentition 

 is somewhat modified (see p. 233) ; as in Pt. modiglianii the colour 

 is uniform blackish, with or without a faint trace of a paler tippet, 

 the fur still longer, the size still smaller. 



AJJinities of group. — The Pt. melanotus is undoubtedly closely 

 related to the Malagasy Pt. rufus group, with the typical members 

 of which it accords in all essential characters of the skull and 

 dentition, distribution of fur, and development of interfemoral ; it 

 differs chiefly in the shape of the ears and a pronounced tendency 

 to suppression of all light colours. The five species of the melanotus 

 group are so nearly interrelated that they may be presumed to be 

 insular modifications of one type of bat which inhabited a land area 

 of which the Andamans, Nicobars, Simalu, Nias, Mentawei, Engano, 

 and Christmas Island are probably the remnants. 



33. Pteropiis melanotus, Blyth. 

 Pteropus nicobaricHS (pt.), Dobson, Cat. Chir. B. M. p. 54. 



Pteropus edulis {nee E. Geoff.), Blyth, J. A. S. B. xv. p. 367 

 (1846: Nicobars) ; Peters, MB. Akad. Berlin, 1867, p. 324 (pt.) 

 (Nicobai's). 



I'teropus melanotus, Blyth, Cat. Mamm. Mus. As. Soc. p. 20 (1863: 

 Nicobars) ; id., Mouat's Andaman Islanders, App. p. 354 (1863 : 

 Nicobars) ; Mason, Bee. hid. Mus. ii. pt. ii. p. 159 (1908 : 

 Nicobars). 



Pteropus nicobaricus, Fitzinyer, SB. Akad. Wien, xlii. p. 389 (1861 : 

 Nicobars) (nom. nud.) ; Blyth, Mouafs Andaman Islanders, App. 

 p. 354 (1863: Nicobars) (liom. nud.); Zelebor, Reise ' Novara,'' 

 Zool. i. Sdug. p. 11 (1869: Car Nicobar) (descr. princeps) ; 

 Fitzinger, SB. Akad. Wien, Ix. Abth. i. p. 410 (1870 : Car 

 Nicobar) ; Dohson, J. A. S. B. xlii. pt. 2, p. 198 (pt), pi. xiv. 

 fig. 2 (ear) (1873 : Nicobars) ; id., P. Z. S. 1873, p. 250 (pt.j 

 (Nicobars ; sexual colour difference) ; id., Cat. Chir. Ind. Mus. 

 ' pp. 2-3 (pt.) (1874: Nicobars); id., Journ. Anthrop. Inst. iv. 



pt. 2, p. 458, footnote (pt.) (1875 : Nicobars) ; id., Mon. As. 

 Chir. p. 17 (pt.) c.fig. (head), pp. 22, 188 (1876: Nicobars) ; id., 

 Cat. Chir. B. M. p. 54 (pt.) (1878 : Nicobars) ; Trouessart, Bev. 

 tV Mag. Zool. (3) vi. p. 202 (pt.) (1879: Nicobars) ; J. Anderson, 

 Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus. pt. i. p. 102 (pt.) (1881 : Nicobars) ; 

 Jentink, Cut. Syst. Mamm. p. 147 (pt.) (1888: Katchall) ; Blan- 

 ford, Fauna Brit. Ind., Ma7nm. pt. ii. p. 260 (pt.) (1891 : 

 'Nicobars): Lydekker, R. Nat. Hist. i. p. 256 (pt.) (1893-94); 

 Trouessart, Cat. Mamtn. i. p. 81 (pt.) (1897 : Nicobars) ; 

 Matschie, Megachir. p. 16 (pt.) (1899: Nicobars); Miller, 

 Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xxiv. p. 782 (1902 : Great Nicobar : Tillan- 



