FREE-TAILED GROUP. 291 



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 

 discovered 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 pair of these 

 teeth are shed in the adult state. Instead of the glandular pouches on the wings, 

 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, developed in the male sex. Many individuals, especially those taken 

 during the hibernating season, have large deposits of fat around the root of the 

 tail and the base of the thighs. This is probably 

 for supporting life during the hibernating season, 

 which, from the more northerly 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 HEAD OF ^MB BAT. -After Dobsou. 

 of a palm tree. Perhaps the best known species is 



the naked - bellied tomb -bat (Taphozous nudiventris), readily recognised by its 

 tawny fur and the naked under-parts. It is a large species, measuring 3J inches 

 in length, exclusive of the tail, the span of the wing being about 20 inches. 

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

 Egyptian tombs, while it also extends into Syria 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. offinis), Mr. E. C. Buxton, as quoted 

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

 cocoa-nut 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 verandah 

 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 

 remarks, 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 animal it can, however, be withdrawn almost completely within the 

 membrane, which thus forms a kind of sheath. 



