326 PHCENIX PARK. 



THE OWL-FACED BAT. 



May 24<th, 1846. — A pretty and interesting little 

 Bat came into my hands, a species of the curious 

 genus Chilonycteris* It flew in at an open window 

 at Phoenix Park in the evening, but was not captured 

 until after a very tedious pursuit, manifesting great 

 agility on the wing. It looked much larger in flight 



* This closely resembles Ch. Madeayii (Gray), sent from Cuba by 

 the zoologist whose name it bears. It differs, however, from that 

 species in some of its admeasurements, and remarkably in colour. I 

 therefore consider it distinct, and would thus describe it. 



Chilonycteris grisea, Mini. Expanse 11 :^ inches. Length from nose 

 to insertion of tail, 2 in. ; tail 1 in., of which ^ were free, above the 

 membrane. Length of first finger, Sj'jjln. Ear, measured up the 

 longer side, ^ ; up the shorter, ^ ; tragus (front side), A in. Muzzle 

 to inner angle of eye, ^ ; muzzle to ear, fg ; thigh, -f^ ; leg, | ; foot /g 

 nearly ; calcareum, \ in. Dental formula, M. 5E3 ; C. jEi ; I. ^ ; = 32. 

 Molars very jagged, with sharp points ; upper canines large ; upper 

 incisors, middle pair, large, wedge-shaped, like the human incisors, 

 with one notch ; lateral pair very small, pointed, leaning towards the 

 middle pair : lower incisors small, with two notches, the points equal 

 in height. Muzzle dilated and truncated, in the manner of a hog's, 

 ending in four points, one above each nostril, and one on each side. 

 Lower lip large, warty : below this there is, as it were, another lip, 

 a thin projecting lamina. The skin at the sides of the head Is a con- 

 tinuation of the ear, reaching almost to the muzzle, inclosing, with 

 the ear, a deep hollow, at the bottom of which is placed the eye, the 

 fur diverging in front and below, like the facial feathers in Owls; 

 the eyes are hidden in a front view : probably this structure is to 

 converge the sound, not the rays of light. The head is round, and 

 prettily formed. The reproductive organs were inconspicuous, but 

 it was a male. 



Colour of the upper parts brownish-grey ; of the under parts pale 

 grey, silky ; the whole fur very soft, short, and mole-like. The volar 

 membranes black, much wrinkled. (Plate VI. fig. 1.) 



