ON THE NEW-GUINEA. MAMMALS. 169 



naturelle des Pays-Bas, Tome XII, 1888 ; the measures 

 are iu millimeters. 



A study of this list is very interesting; it teaches us 

 that the length of the fore-arm — generally looked upon as 

 a rather constant thing — varies from 97 to 150 mm., not- 

 vs^ithstanding the specimens are adult, as the teeth shov7 ; 

 moreover on the skulls all the sutures have vanished by 

 growing, meanwhile the crista is well developed. The 

 individual from Ternate, for instance, has the fore-arm 115 

 mm., therefore is a good deal shorter than the maximum- 

 length and this notwithstanding the skull presents very 

 deeply grinded-off molars, so that the individual certainly 

 is a full-grown one. Although I am the first to confess 

 that the number of measured specimens is by far not 

 large enough to make conclusions as to the probable or 

 expected constancy in size in individuals from a given 

 locality, still what we can see in the above list seems to 

 point out just the contrary, as I should say. 



One would be inclined to consider the individuals from 

 Celebes and Timor as the smallest, growing larger east- 

 wards, f. i. for Celebes, Timor and Wetter: fore-arm 97, 99 and 

 95 mm. and for N. Guinea 150 ram. — moreover there is 

 in the Dresden-Museum a specimen from Mansinam, Geel- 

 vink-bay, the very locality of our large one, having a 

 fore-arm of 148 mm. Dobson however mentioned (P. Z. 

 S. L., 1878) an adult specimen from Amberbaki, East of 

 the Kleine Geelvink-bay, having the fore-arm not longer 

 than 80 mm. ; and our Mefoor-specimen presents a fore- 

 arm of 109 mm., therefore about the size of the more 

 westwards living specimens. Matschie (Die Megachiroptera, 

 1899, p. 86) gives some very interesting comparative measu- 

 rements in mm. illustrating my views: 



Unterarm. Fusslange. Kopflange. 

 Batjan, 9 ad. 106 24 49 



9 ad. 125 27 57 



Key, (ƒ 121 25 



„ 9 113 20 



Notes from the Leyden ÜVIusexiiii, Vol. XXVUI. 



