﻿Mr. 
  F. 
  S. 
  Monticelli 
  on 
  the 
  Genus 
  Taphozous. 
  487 
  

  

  LIX. 
  — 
  Some 
  Remarks 
  on 
  the 
  Genus 
  Taphozous. 
  

   By 
  Fe. 
  Sav. 
  Monticelli. 
  

  

  In 
  1885 
  I 
  proposed 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  T. 
  perforatus, 
  var. 
  assa- 
  

   hensis, 
  for 
  a 
  specimen 
  of 
  bat 
  collected 
  by 
  the 
  late 
  Prof. 
  

   G. 
  B. 
  Licata 
  in 
  Buia 
  (Assab)*. 
  I 
  have 
  now 
  had 
  the 
  oppor- 
  

   tunity 
  of 
  comparing 
  my 
  specimen 
  with 
  all 
  the 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  

   Taphozous 
  existing 
  in 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  Museum 
  

   (Natural 
  History), 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  come 
  to 
  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  

   it 
  is 
  identical 
  with 
  T. 
  nudiventris, 
  Cretzschmar. 
  Unfor- 
  

   tunately 
  I 
  had 
  not 
  seen 
  this 
  species 
  when 
  I 
  described 
  my 
  

   variety, 
  and 
  I 
  only 
  had 
  before 
  me 
  Mr. 
  Dobson'sf 
  synopsis 
  of 
  

   the 
  subgenera 
  and 
  species, 
  by 
  which 
  I 
  was 
  led 
  astray, 
  as 
  it 
  

   appears 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  be 
  based 
  on 
  characters 
  of 
  considerable 
  varia- 
  

   bility. 
  

  

  Dobson 
  divides 
  the 
  genus 
  Taphozous 
  into 
  two 
  subgenera 
  

   easily 
  to 
  be 
  recognized. 
  The 
  first 
  subgenus 
  (Taphozous) 
  is 
  

   characterized 
  by 
  the 
  presence 
  of 
  a 
  radio-metacarpal 
  pouch 
  

   and 
  by 
  its 
  scarcely 
  grooved 
  lower 
  lip. 
  The 
  second 
  subgenus 
  

   (Taphonycteris) 
  is 
  characterized 
  by 
  the 
  absence 
  of 
  the 
  radio- 
  

   metacarpal 
  pouch 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  lower 
  lip 
  being 
  divided 
  in 
  the 
  

   centre 
  of 
  its 
  upper 
  surface 
  and 
  in 
  front 
  by 
  a 
  deep 
  narrow 
  

   groove. 
  The 
  first 
  subgenus 
  he 
  divided 
  into 
  the 
  Taphozoi 
  with 
  

   radio-metacarpal 
  pouch 
  well 
  developed 
  (T. 
  melanopogon, 
  T. 
  

   Theobaldi, 
  T. 
  australis, 
  T. 
  perforatus, 
  T. 
  longimanus, 
  T. 
  

   mauritianus) 
  and 
  those 
  with 
  it 
  small 
  (T. 
  nudiventris) 
  . 
  But 
  

   this 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  greater 
  or 
  less 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  pouch 
  is 
  

   very 
  uncertain, 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  observed 
  in 
  examining 
  all 
  the 
  species 
  

   of 
  this 
  first 
  group 
  of 
  the 
  genus, 
  and 
  induced 
  me 
  to 
  assign 
  my 
  

   specimen 
  to 
  the 
  first 
  section, 
  especially 
  as 
  the 
  other 
  charac- 
  

   ter 
  assigned 
  by 
  Dobson 
  to 
  T. 
  nudiventris 
  (the 
  length 
  of 
  the 
  

   forearm) 
  did 
  not 
  agree 
  with 
  it. 
  

  

  I 
  think 
  I 
  have 
  found 
  while 
  examining 
  the 
  different 
  species 
  

   another 
  character 
  more 
  constant, 
  which 
  enables 
  the 
  mem- 
  

   bers 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  sections 
  of 
  the 
  subgenus 
  Taphozous 
  to 
  be 
  easily 
  

   recognized. 
  This 
  character 
  is 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  feet 
  — 
  the 
  feet 
  

   of 
  the 
  Taphozoi 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  section 
  being 
  small 
  and 
  those 
  

   of 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  second 
  very 
  large. 
  From 
  my 
  obser- 
  

   vations 
  i 
  think 
  that 
  the 
  synopsis 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  

   Taphozous 
  might 
  be 
  modified 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  * 
  Ann. 
  Ace. 
  O. 
  Costa 
  d. 
  Aspiranti 
  Naturalisti, 
  Era 
  iii. 
  vol. 
  i. 
  (1885) 
  ; 
  

   Bull. 
  Soc. 
  Africana 
  d'ltalia, 
  Anno 
  iv. 
  fasc. 
  iv. 
  (1885). 
  

   t 
  Cat. 
  of 
  Chiroptera 
  Brit. 
  Mns. 
  p. 
  379. 
  

  

  