On the Gtnus NjctopliIIus. 493 



occupying tlie greatest part of tlie metapleura, and voiv 

 slightly sculptured. Distant (Rliyncli. Brit. Ind. iv. p. 464) 

 lias also described the geiius (under the -wrong name " Proto- 

 phanlasta "j and says in the description : '' libiffi longitudinally 

 grooved." Should the tibiie really prove to be sulcated in 

 the species described by Distant, this would be a most unusual 

 and aberrant specific character of that species, as the cylin- 

 drical non-sulcate tibiae is one of the principal characters of 

 the Acanthosomatiiiai. I have seen no nienil)cr of this sub- 

 family with furrowed tibite. 



Five species of this curious genus were previously known, 

 one from Ceylon, two from Sumatra, one from Java, and one 

 from Borneo. 



XLT. — Notes on the Genus Nyctophilus. 



By Oldfield Thomas. 



(Published by peiniiission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) 



When describing the new genus Pharotis last year I pub- 

 lished * a cursory survey of its &.\\y , Ni/ctophilus, and finding 

 out in what direction further material was most urgently 

 needed, I made an appeal to the authorities of the Australian 

 Museum, Sydney, for s|»ecimens from Eastern Australia. 



Through the kindness of Mr. A. R. McCiiUoch, that 

 appeal has been most liberally responded to, and I have been 

 entrusted with their whole collection of the genus, numbering 

 no less than 42 specimens from various localities, all pre- 

 served in spirit, thus supplementing the British Museum 

 material, which is largely in skin. 



On studying these spirit-specimens I find that most useful 

 differential characters may be drawn both from the develop-* 

 ment of the nose-leaf, hitherto supposed to be the same 

 throughout the genus, and from the structure of the bone 

 to winch 1 have recently drawn attention in squirrels, the 

 baculum or penis-bone. 



The facial membranes consist, firstly, of a definite semi- 

 circular leaf surmounting the nostrils, with or without a 

 median notch in its upper edge, and, secondly, of a rounded 

 elevation behind it, more or less divided centrally into two 

 halves, and varying in its development in three different 

 degrees, which may be briefly described as follows : — 



1. Elevation quite low, rounded, nearly uniformly hairy, 

 division into two scarcely perceptible. 



* Ann. & Mag. N. H. (8) xiv. p. 383. 



