254 Mr. K. Andersen on the Bats 



General Remarks on the Rh. philippinensis Group *. 



In the Philippine Islands and the Austro-Malayan Sub- 

 region we find preserved the most primitive members of the 

 whole group. 



In all the more important points, cranial and external, 

 Rh. philippinensis (Luzon) and achiUes\ (Key Islands) are 

 either much like or quite on the same level as other primitive 

 Rhinolophi: — In the general shape of the skull; in the 

 narrow temporal fossa and low sagittal crest; in the long 

 palatal bridge ; in the dentition — p" less reduced in size, 

 its cusp well developed, the interspace between the canine 

 and p*' very wide ; in the wing-structure — the ratio be- 

 tween the metacarpals, as well as the proportional length 

 of the distal phalanges, practically quite as in Rh. mcyaphyllus 

 (and its closer allies] or Rh. lepidus (and its modifications) ; 

 in the number of mental grooves — three, as in all primitive 

 species of the genus ; in the general shape of the ears — very 

 blunt, emargination of outer margin below the tip very 

 shallow, the ear therefore not attenuated below the tip. But 

 the nose-leaves are peculiarly modified % and the ears 

 unusually large. 



This type of bat has found its way to N. India : Rh. mi- 

 tratus (Chaibassa, on the border of Orissa and Bengal). 

 The same cup-like expansion of the central nose-leaf, formed 

 by the base of the sella and the internasal lobes; the same 

 shape and proportionate size of the ears. But the wing- 

 structure seems to be more advanced § and the lateral 

 mental grooves are obliterated. The skull and dentition are 

 unknown. 



We find the jjhilippinensis-iype so far away as Conakry 

 Island, off the coast of Senegambia : Rh. Maclaudi ||. Iden- 

 tically the same cup-like (not wing-like) expansion of the 

 central nose-leaf; the same shape of the upper (not expanded) 

 part of the sella — very broad, parallel-margined, the summit 



* To be compared with the diagram on p. 247. 



t Thomas, Ann. & Mag. Xat. Hist. (7) v. (1900) p. 145. 



+ It is worth noticing that the connecting-process in Hh. philippinensis 

 and achilles, although quite of the same style as in the other members of 

 the group, is slightly less reduced in size, consequently nearer to the 

 " normal " type. 



§ Detailed measurements of the wing of Rh. mitratus are unknown. 

 According to Blyth (J. A. S. B. xiii. (is44) p. 483) the length of the 

 forearm is 57 mm., the length of the third hnger, as a whole, 84'o mm. ; 

 this is sufficient to convince me that there must be a considerable 

 lengthening of III,^. 



II E. de Pousargues, Bull. Mus. d'Hist. nat. 1897, no. 8, pp. 358-331 

 (Feb. 1898). 



