256 



PTEROPODID^E. 



back, and the back of the second toe. Tail none. Hair of the 

 liind neck and shoulders different in quality from that of the back, 

 and generally much brighter in colour. 



Fig. 74. Skull ofPteropus medius. 



Dentition : i. ^, c. ^, pm. |^jj, m. |j^|. Upper incisors in a 

 semicircular row, separated on each side from the canines ; lower 

 outer incisors close to the canines, the inner pair generally 

 separated by a slight interval and smaller ; first upper premolars 

 generally very small and deciduous. 



This genus contains the large fruit-bats commonly known in 

 India as flying-foxes. 



Synopsis of Indian, Oeylonese, and Burmese Species. 



A. Forearm (radius) in adults less than 7 inches 



long. 



a. Ears pointed, longer than distance from 



eye to muzzle P. medius, p. 257, 



b. Ears rounded, shorter than distance from 



eye to muzzle P nicobaricus, p. 260. 



B. Forearm in adults more than 8 inches long ; 



ears pointed . P. edulis, p. 259. 



Beyond India the genus Pteropus has a remarkable geographical 

 distribution. The majority of the species inhabit the Malay 

 Archipelago, on both sides of Wallace's line ; the range of the 

 genus extending eastward to Samoa, south throughout a con- 

 siderable part of Australia (not to New Zealand or Tasmania), and 

 eastward to Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, but not to 

 Africa. 



