344 rxEKorps tami'YBPS. 



Subspecies. — The six known races of Pt. vampyrug differ only in 

 colour and sixe ; none of them is sufficiently sharj)ly differentiated 

 from its nearest geographical neighbours to be regarded as a distinct 

 species. If the colour is taken as the leading character, these 

 forms fall into two primary groups : in the oae {Pi. v. malaccensi^, 

 vampyrus, and natuno') the fur of the upperside is similar in colour 

 to that of Pt. giyanteus, i. e. mantle bright-coloured contrasting 

 ■with dark back ; in the other {Pt. v. pluion, edidis, and lanensis) 

 the fur is uniform dark-coloured above and beneath, or with only a 

 trace of a brighter mantle. The formei- group (the races which ia 

 the colour of the fur come nearest to the continental Pt.intermedius 

 and fjiijanteus) occupies the whole western and central area of Indo- 

 Malaya, viz. Malacca. Sumatra, Jaya, and Borneo with the Natuna 

 Islands ; while the chiefly or entirely melanistic forms are confined 

 to the extreme north-eastern (Philippines : lanensis) and south- 

 eastern (Lesser Sunda Islands ; pluton and edulis) corners of this 

 region. The colour characters hold good for the large majority of 

 individuals, but a certain percentage, though vei'V small indeed, of 

 individuals of the generally bright-coloured races are melanistic, or 

 vice versa. — If the size is taken as the leading character, the races 

 of Pi. vampyriis fall,, again, into two, but different, groups ; in the 

 one {Pt. V. malacccnsis, vamjyyrus, and jj?m^m) the individuals 

 average much laigcr, in the other {Pt. v. edulis, naiiuia, and 

 lanensis) much smaller. The former group inhabits the quasi- 

 continuous area from Malacca, through Sumatra asid Java, to Bali 

 and Lombok, the latter Timor, Borneo, and ihe Philippines. — If the 

 six forms are reviewed in their geographical order, their differential 

 ehavactcrs present themselves as follows: Malacca and Sumatra 

 {vialaceeiisis): large, with bright-coloured mantle ; Java {vamjij/rm) ; 

 still larger, with bright-coloured mantle, but a small percentage 

 melanistic as pdvton ; Bali and Lombok {pluion) : size as vam- 

 yyrus, colour melanistic (mantle darkened to dull russet, chestnut, 

 or blackish) ; Savu and Timor (edidis): colour generally melanistic, 

 size much reduced ; Borneo and Natunas {natiince) : size small, 

 mantle bright-coloured; Philippines {lanevsis) : size as««iunce, but 

 frolour generally melanistic. 



♦be Andaman Islaads, given to the wriier [Dob$on] by Mr, Fr*ncis Day (with 

 forearm only 6"'6 long), has the fur very short thromghout, and the wings, 

 interfenioial membrane, and extremities almost devoid of liair; tbe head, 

 mider surface of the lower jaw, and throat very dark reddiah brown, with some 

 intermixed greyish or sliining hairs ; the back of the head, nape of neck, and 

 ehojjlders reddish yellow, the breast and abdomen reddish brown ; upper and 

 lower incisors slender, cylinrlricil " {J).ohs07i, I. s. Q.). 



The two specimens described above appear to he the oply ones recorded in 

 literature. In Zelebgr's description of the Car Nicobay specimen, so far as it 

 goes, there is nothing to show any difTerence from an ordinary, bright-mantled 

 Ft. vanipj/nis. I have been unable to trace the fate of the Andaman specimen 

 once in Dr. Dubson's posse^sion ; his priv8ite collectioij, ;iow in the Pubfin 

 Museum, does not (I am informed by Dr. E. F. Scharflf) contain any specimen 

 ftf Pf. vamp^rui: rom the Andamans. 



