AMERICAN BATS — ^HANDLEY 205 



are not "very closely followed by the molars," the nostrils are not 

 separated by a lyre-shaped plate, and the auricles are not notched on 

 their exterior borders. 



There is a possibility that the description of V. maugei is a com- 

 posite. The dental characters could apply to Eptesicus. Externally, 

 the West Indian phyllostomid Macrotus waterhousii agrees fairly 

 well with Desmarest's description. Although its tail is a trifle short, 

 and its nose leaf can hardly be said to be ''lyre-shaped," it nevertheless 

 has unusually large ears, coimected at their internal bases, and its 

 coloration exactly matches Desmarest's description. On the other 

 hand, with regard to its dentition, Macrotus bears no resemblance 

 whatsoever to the description of "V. maugei." 



It seems probable that the bat Desmarest described was 

 the Eurasian Barbastella, with which his descriptions agree in all 

 details. In all probability the specimen did not originate in Puerto 

 Rico or elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere. Consequently, the 

 name Vespertilio maugei should be placed in the synonymy of Barba- 

 stella and should be disassociated from Plecotus and the American 

 fauna. 



History 



PALEONTOLOGICAL RECORD 



Chiropteba 



The paleontological record is so fragmentary for bats that few 

 conclusions can be drawn from it. Crania and upper dentitions are 

 disappointingly rare in fossil bat material. The commonest remains 

 are mandibles or long bones, neither of which, when isolated and 

 fragmentary, are very satisfactory for studies of evolution and rela- 

 tionships or even for taxonomic classification. Paradoxically, the 

 oldest known chiropteran remains — those of Archaeonyderis, Palaeo- 

 chiropteryx, and Cecilionycteris of the Middle Eocene — are also 

 the best preserved. Complete dentitions and skeletons are intact, 

 and even the outlines of the wing membranes can be traced (G. 

 Allen, 1939, p. 177). 



Most of the work on fossil Chiroptera has been done in Europe. 

 A majority of the named forms and a preponderance of the literature 

 on the subject are from that region. Investigations conducted else- 

 where, principally in China and in the United States are insignificant 

 by comparison. Preglacial fissure and cave microfaunas have been 

 virtually untouched outside of Europe. 



The European record indicates that the extinct families Archaeonyc- 

 teridae and Palaeochiropterygidae occurred with some variety in 

 Middle Eocene time. Rhinolophidae were numerous and predominant 

 in Upper Eocene and Oligocene deposits. Species of Megadermatidae 



