384 Mr. K. Andersen on the Geographical Baces 



The arms were measured from the mouth, but the arm- 

 measurements must be considered only approximate, as, with 

 the exception of the first and third arms on the left, the 

 extreme tips are missing. 



XLIX. — On the Geographical Races of the Lesser Horseshoe 

 Bat (Khinolophus hipposiderus). By Knud Andersen. 



In a paper published two years ago in the ' Proceedings of 

 the Zoological Society of London ' (1905, ii. pp. 139-144) I 

 pointed out the existence of three geographical races of the 

 Lesser Horseshoe Bat, viz. a small southern form {Rh. h. 

 minimus), distributed, broadly speaking, over the Mediter- 

 ranean Subregion, south-eastwards to Sennaar and Keren; a 

 large northern form {Rh. h. hipposiderus)^ ranging, broadly 

 speaking, from the extreme N.W. Himalayas (Gilgit), 

 through N.W. Persia and Armenia, over the whole of Central 

 Europe N. of the Balkans and the Alps; thirdly, a form 

 {Rh. h. minutus) apparently confined to England, Wales, and 

 Ireland. The southern differs from the northern form, I 

 wrote, in being in every respect smaller — in some respects, 

 as it seems, absolutely smaller, in others at least on an 

 average; I found the length of the forearm to be the most 

 convenient means for a ready discrimination : in minimus 

 34-7-38 mm., in hipposiderus 39-41*7. As to the characters 

 of the English form, they have no bearing on the subject- 

 matter of tiiis paper, and are therefore left entirely out of 

 consideration here. My conclusions were based on an exam- 

 ination of ninety-five adult specimens, mostly from the collec- 

 tion of the British Museum, and obtained in localities dotted 

 over practically the whole area occupied by the species. 



Since 1 wrote that pa])er several other specimens, partly 

 material added to the British Museum collection, partly 

 examples sent for inspection and identification by corre- 

 spondents here and abroad, have passed through my hands. 

 Every specimen has agreed precisely with the characters 

 pointed out by me, with the exception of three, all of lohich 

 are from a place in which I had already predicted'^ that both 

 forms or intermediate individuals loould most probably he 

 found, 



* " I have some reason to believe tliat in certain border districts {e. g. 

 S.W. Switzerland . . . .) the two forms occur together, perhaps side by 

 side, but intermediate examples 1 have never seen. They will pmbably 

 be found." (Proc. Zool. Soe. 1905, ii. p. 141.) 



