BOBSOXIA riiRONI. 



again replaced ; tliis is the original of GeofiVoy's skull figures (same 

 plate as skin), but the artist lias erroneously united in^ and m^ 

 to form one single tooth; also Blaiaville's figures of the skull and 

 dentition of '^ I'ieropus Peronii" (I.e.) arc prohably drawn from 

 Ihis skull (sec antea, p. 466). The skull of A 119 is in situ, hut 

 ■with the jaws sutficiently ajar to allow an examination of tlie 

 cliaracters of the premolars and anterior molars. 



/•^ez-ojiHA- j>rt?[Zj('ai((s, E. Geoff.; 1810. — Based on an alcoholic 

 ppecimen from unknown locality, received in exchange hy the 

 I'aris Museum from Martin van Marum, Museum Teyler, Haarlem. 

 Geoffroy found l~l incisors in this specimen, therefore r'.ferrcd 

 it to the genus '' Pteropus" (not to "■ CcpJuilotcs"); but at the 

 same time lie clearly saw its peculiar external characters, viz., 

 absence of claw of index and insertion of membranes along spinal 

 line, and therefore made it ttie sole representative of a di.stinct 

 ((bird) section of Pteropus, " lloussettes a ailcs sur le dos," which, 

 he surmised, probably "sera un jour retiree des ronssettes, pour 

 elre elevee au rang de genre'"" (thi.^ hint was followed by Itafinesijue 

 in 1815, who proposed tlic generic name Pteronotu^, and by Eurneft 

 in 18:29, who jn-ojiosed T'nhonaphoras, but both of these names are 

 technically vomina nuda). There is no doubt whatever that 

 Pt. piaUiaUis was a Dolxonia, but as the type locality is unknown, 

 the description confined to characters common to all forms of 

 j)chsoni(t, and the type no longer in existence, the species is 

 absolutely indeterminable. It is evident from the measurements 

 given of" the type that it Avas a quite young individual (head in 

 iiesh only 40 mm., "envergure" 380 mm., from which it may 

 safely be inferred that the forearm cannot have been more than 

 about- G5 mm.), and from the number of the incisors that it had 

 ;}ot shed the milk teeth (compare note on milk dentition of Dob.-<onia, 

 antea, p. 452). — The specimen which Geotfroy in 1810 described 

 as Pt. jydliatus had, in 1803, by the same author in his subsequently 

 suppressed Catalogue been referred to " Pteropiis cepJialofef," Pallas 

 [Nfictimene cepJtalotcs oi modern authors], the description of which, as 

 given by GeoHroy, was ])artly taken from Tail as's description of " Ves- 

 jxTlUio cepJialotes,''' Y>nvt]y{inc\sors and ears) from the yonn^Dobsonia. 



Trihonophorus desmaresii, Burnett; 1829. — Xame jiroposed for 

 the " Mantled lloussette." Xo other bat but Pteropus palliatus 

 has ever been called "Iloussette mantelee "; hence there is practically 

 1)0 doubt whatever that T. desnmrcati is simply a re-naming of 

 J'f. puHiahfi (re-named, perliaps, because tiie combination Tribono- 

 vliorus palliatus would be tautologous, meaning the mnntled 

 "Mantled liat : and re-named in honour of 3)'->smareat, evidently 

 because Burnett believed Desmarest to be the first author who 

 had hinted at the possilulity that the Roussette mantele'e, when 

 better known, ought to form a distinct genus; but Desmarcst's 

 remark (N. Diet. d"Hist. Xat., new ed. xxix. p. 515 ; 1819) is in 

 fact only copied from Geoffrey's original description of Pt. palliatus). 

 As resting onlv on a vernacular name, T. dcsmaresti is from a 

 formal technical point of view a nomen nudum. 



