260 PTEROPODIDJE. 



back between the shoulders paler yellowish or rufous-brown, or 

 sometimes bright rufous ; back dark brown or black with a mixture 

 of grey hairs ; lower parts either rufous-brown throughout, or the 

 lower breast and abdomen nearly black with an intermixture of 

 grey. Some specimens are black throughout. 



Dimensions. Head and body 12 inches, ear from orifice 1*75, 

 forearm 8-8 ; basal length of skull 3, zygomatic breadth 1*75. 

 The expanse of the wings is fully 5 feet. 



Distribution. The Indo-Malayan subregion (Malayan Peninsula, 

 Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Philippines, &c.), extending, it is said, 

 to the Nicobar and Andaman Islands, and perhaps into Southern 

 Tenasserim, a specimen from Mergui, in bad condition however, 

 having been referred to this species by Blyth. This species was 

 obtained by Anderson in the Mergui Archipelago. 



The habits are similar to those of P. medius. 



136. Pteropus nicobaricus. The Nicobar Flying-Fox. 



Pteropus nicobaricus, Fitzinger, Sitzb. Wien. Ak. xlii, 1861, p. 389 



(no description) ; Zelebor, Novara, Reise, Sdugeth. p. 11 (1868) ; 



Dobson, J. A. S. B. xlii, pt. 2, p. 198, pi. xiv, f. 2 (ear) ; id. 



Mon. As. Chir. p. 17 ; id. Cat. Chir. E. M. p. 54 ; Anderson. Cat. 



p. 102. 

 Pteropus melanotus, Blyth, Cat. p. 20 (1863) (no description). 



Size of P. medius. Ears naked, short, rounded at the tip, their 

 breadth when laid flat about three-quarters of the length, which 

 is less than the distance from the eye to the end of the nose. 

 "Wing from the back and distribution of fur as in P. medius. Skull 

 rather shorter and broader. 



Fig. 75. Head of Pteropus nicobaricus. (Dobson, Mon. As. Chir.) 



Colour. In males the coloration is sometimes as in P. medius, 

 but generally darker; head dark brown above and below; hind 

 neck and between shoulders rufous to yellowish brown; back 

 dark brown : lower parts brown, paler in the middle of the abdo- 

 men. Young males and females often intensely black throughout, 

 or with only an indication of the pale collar. 



Dimensions. Head and body 9 inches long (varying from 8 to 

 10-5), ear 1-05, forearm 6-5 ; total length of skull' 3, basal length 

 2-7, zygomatic breadth 1-4 (Zelebor}. 



