FRUIT-BATS. 



253 



the second or index finger, as shown in our lig-ure of the skeleton ; but the metacarpal 

 bones, or those between the wrist and the iingers. must not be confounded with the 

 proper bones of tlie latter. Moreover, the terminal joint of the second finger is 

 generally provided with a claw ; wliereas in otlier bats the thumb alone is thus 

 furnished. Then, again, a fruit-bat may always be distinguished by its ears, of 

 which the sides of the projecting portion, or conch, are united at the base so as to 

 form a complete ring: the ears, as wo have already incidentally mentioned, being 

 invariable' of small size, and unpro\'ided witli an inner tragus. The last distinctive 

 feature of the group that it will be necessary to mention here is that the tail, if 

 present at all, is always short, and is situated beneath the membrane between the 

 hind legs, with wliicli mendjrane it may have no connection. There are certain 

 other characteristics of the group whicli require a considerable amount of anatomical 

 knowledge for their due appreciation, and which we accordingh' pass over. 



Manj^ considerations lead to the conclusion tliat the fruit-bats are a specialised 

 group, which have been derived by adaptation from ordinary insectivorous bats ; 

 and this view lias been remarkably confirmed bj- the comparatively recent discovery 

 of a peculiar species, which, while agreeing with the rest in the general structure 

 of its moliii- teeth, differs in that these teeth retain cusps representing those of the 

 insect-eating group. 



the 



The Common Fruit-Bats, ou Fox-Bats. 

 Genus Pteropus. 



The best known of the group are the so-called fox-bats, or flying-foxes, taking 

 their name from their long fox-like faces, of which a group is represented in 

 the coloured plate, and a single example in the woodcut on the next page. These 

 bats, constituting the genus Pteropus of naturalists, are characterised by their large 

 size, the presence of thirty-four teeth (among which there are two pairs of incisors 

 and three premolars in each jaw), the total absence of a tail, the long and fox-like 

 muzzle, and the thick coat of woolly fur with which the neck is covered. 



Fox-bats are found in India, Ceylon, Burma, the Malay Archipelago, 

 Seychelles, Madagascar, the Comoro Islands, the 

 south of Japan, and most of the islands of the 

 Pacific (the Sandwich and some other groups 

 excepted), as well as in Papua and Australia. 

 Curiously enough, they are quite unknown in 

 Africa, although conmion in the Comoro Islands, 

 two hundred miles distant. Probably the best 

 known of all the species is the Indian fox-bat 

 {Pteropus medius), characterised by its naked 

 and sharply -pointed ears. All who have resided 

 in India are familiar with the long strings of 

 fox-bats which may be seen, as the shades of 

 evening approach, wending their way from their sleeping-places to the scene of 

 their nocturnal depredations. Writing of these bats, the late Dr. Jerdon says that 



HEAD OF Wallace's fox-bat. 

 (From Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc.) 



