THE TOMB-BATS 293 



THE TOMB-BATS 

 Genus Taphozous 



These derive both their popular and scientific titles from one of the species 

 being found in vast numbers in the ancient Egyptian tombs, where they were dis- 

 covered during the first French Expedition to that country. The tomb-bats differ 

 from the other members of the group in having only two pairs of incisor teeth in the 

 lower jaw, and also by the circumstance that the upper paif of these teeth are shed 

 in the adult state. Instead of the glandular pouches on the winds, characteristic of 

 the preceding genus, most of these bats have pouches of a similar nature on the 

 under surface of the chin ; these being chiefly, and in some cases exclusively devel- 

 oped in the male sex. Many individuals, especially those taken during the hiber- 

 nating season, have large deposits of fat around the root of the tail and the base of 

 thighs. This is probably for supporting life during 

 the hibernating season, which, from the more north- 

 erly range of this species, would appear to be longer 

 than among the other representatives of the genus. 



The tomb-bats are found in Africa, India, 

 Burma, the Malayan region, and Australia, but are 

 unknown in Polynesia. Most of them are dwellers 

 in caves, fissures in rocks, and old buildings ; but 

 one Indian species has been observed on the stem 

 of a palm tree. Perhaps the best known species is 



the naked-bellied tomb-bat ( Taphozous nudiventris) , Aftef " 



readily recognized by its tawny fur and the naked 



under parts. It is a large species, measuring three and three-fourths inches in 

 length, exclusive of the tail, the span of the wing being about twenty inches. 

 This species is widely distributed over Africa, and is the one found in the 

 Egyptian tombs, while it also extends into Sj^ria and Palestine. According to 

 Canon Tristram, the caves near the Sea of Galilee are inhabited by clouds of 

 these bats. 



Writing of the Sumatran species (T. affinis), Mr. E. C. Buxton, as quoted by 

 Dr. Dobson, states that at Telok Betong, in Sumatra, " there was an old, hollow 

 cocoanut stump in the garden, and about twenty of these bats lived in it. At 

 night, or rather early in the morning, they used to hang at the top of the veranda 

 in company with several other kinds ; and I found that they were all fruit eaters, as 

 there was a great deal of fruit refuse under them." Although, as Dr. Dobson re- 

 marks, this by no means proves the tomb-bat to be at times a fruit eater, as, for all 

 we know, the fruit refuse might have been deposited by its companions, yet that 

 this is probably the case is indicated by the partially frugivorous habits of some of 

 its American allies. The tail of the tomb-bats perforates the membrane between the 

 legs near its centre, and thus has the tip freely projecting. At the will of the ani- 

 mal it can, however, be withdrawn almost completely within the membrane, which 

 thus forms a kind of sheath. 



