2 9 o BATS. 



order (as, indeed, they are of the whole class of Mammals) found in New Zealand ; 

 but the range on either side is mainly restricted to the belt lying within thirty 

 degrees of the Equator. 



THE SHEATH-TAILED BATS. 

 Genus Emballonura. 



The mountain sheath-tailed bat (Eniballonura monticola) is a fairly well- 

 known representative of a group of this family in which the tail is slender, and has 

 its free extremity perforating the membrane between the hind legs, while the legs 

 are relatively long, and the upper incisor teeth comparatively small and weak. 

 The special characteristic of the genus is that there are two pairs of upper incisor 

 teeth ; the total number of teeth being 34, of which | on each side belong to the 

 incisor, and f to the cheek series. The production of the muzzle is more or less 

 strongly marked, the top of the head is flat, and the ears are not united, and have 

 a tragus of somewhat oblong form, and expanded above. 



The mountain sheath-tailed bat is of a chocolate-brown colour, and measures 

 about 1J inches in length, exclusive of the tail. It is found in Java, Sumatra, 

 Borneo, and the Philippines ; the other four species of the genus inhabiting various 

 islands in the region extending from Madagascar to the Navigator group. The 

 genus is, therefore, exclusively an insular one, and, in this respect, quite peculiar. 

 The Polynesian sheath-tailed bat (E. semicaudata) is found in the Mergui 

 Archipelago lying off Tenasserim. 



THE POUCH- WINGED BATS. 

 Genus Saccopteryx. 



Omitting two small genera, we come to the remarkable pouch-winged bats 

 (Saccopteryx) of Central and South America, which do not generally exceed 2 

 inches in length, and have fewer teeth than the foregoing ; the number of incisors 

 being J, and the cheek-teeth ^ on each side. They derive their name from the 

 presence of a peculiar glandular pouch on the under side of each wing, at or near 

 the elbow-joint. These pouches, which are well developed in the males but 

 rudimentary in the females, secrete a red-coloured strongly-smelling substance, 

 which appears to act as a sexual attraction. In one species from British Guiana 

 ($. leptura), these pouches are unusually large, and from each of them projects a 

 prominent white frill of skin, which seems capable of being protruded and with- 

 drawn at the will of the animal ; the use of this is unknown. In Demerara these 

 bats may be seen flying about quite close to the houses at dusk. Moseley relates 

 that he caught an example of another species (8. canina) in Bahia, resting fast 

 asleep on the bare bark of a large tree ; the dense forest growth overhead making 

 such an exposed situation quite dark enough for a resting-place throughout the 

 day. Nearly all the six species have the fur of a uniform dark brown colour, 

 although one has a reddish tinge. 



