30 NOCTILIONID^. 



Length, 5^ inches, of which the tail is 2i inches; expanse, 13 ; 

 fore-arm, 2-^^; tibia, 1^ ; ear in front, |-. 



This bat is found over almost all India, in Burmah and Malayana. It 

 frequents old ruins, caves, clefts in rocks, &c. In 1848 many were cap- 

 tured in Madras by Mr. Elliot and myself in a house for three succes- 

 sive nights, this bat being not of common occuri-ence there in general. 

 They had probably been blown there by the strong westerly winds which 

 had just set in from the rocky hills to the westward of Madras. 



This species is very closely allied to E. 7nicrojjh^Ua, from Egypt, on 

 which the genus was founded, the only other species known. 



Nycteris is another allied form, mostly African, but with one species, 

 Nycteris javanica, Geoffroy, from Java and Malacca. 



The remaining animals of this family are American, and comprise the 

 sub-families Fhyllostomatince smd Des7nodince of some. The former, which 

 represent the Rhinolophince in the new world, have a nose-leaf, usually 4 

 incisors in each jaw, ear with a distinct tragus, and the tongue long and 

 extensile. The Vampire of authors, Vamjyyrus spectrum, L., is one of 

 the largest of the group, but it does not appear certain that this bat and 

 its allies are so sanguivorous as those of the next sub-family. The 

 tongue, however, is furnished with a suctorial disc. One genus, Gloaso- 

 phaga, has the tongue very long and narrow, furnished at the tip with 

 a brush of hair-like papillpe ; another genus, Stenoderma, is stated to be 

 frugivorous. The Deantodiiife are furnished with most formidable lancet- 

 shaped incisors and canines, evidently adapted for blood-letting. 



Fam. NocTiLiONiD.E. 



No facial membrane ; head, short and obtuse ; lips, large ; wings, 

 long ; tail, usually free at the tip. 



Sub-fam. Tapiiozoin^e. 



Ears, distant ; tail, much shorter than the membrane, free at the tip. 



Gen. Taphozous, Geoffroy. 



Char. — Two small incisors above in young individuals only, none in 

 adults. 



Molars, ; snout, conical, with the nostrils approximate; forehead, 



o — 



with a rounded cavity ; ears, moderate, apart ; tail, short, emerging by 



a free tip above the intercvural membrane. 



