(hi some Plerojn'ne JJals. 387 



'I'licii tlic exlrcine iinitormiiy of tlie bone in Sciurua vul- 

 ffaris, lli<i American iiciuri, aiiil lleitltrosciurus. 



Tiie absi'nci; of com|)outJ<l-l)Hculuin forina from Africa, and 

 tlieir (ioininunco in the Oriental region, where, apart from 

 Rntliron'inrus, only Ratufa and FitnambuluB have simple 

 ones. 



I'ht! ri'.st'tnhhiMce of the hacuhun of liutufa \o that of the 

 African Proto.terus, and the j)ossil)ility that there i.s some 

 i*pt'cial r<lati->nsliip between the ^iant scjuirreU of Asia and 

 West Africa. 



The development of the compound bacula along two lines, 

 to one or other of which nearly all forms may bf^ readily 

 assigned. Thus the bacula of 'J\iniioj>n, JJremothifs, Lariaciis, 

 and SiiTifiosciiirus are all absolutely of the Tomeutes type, 

 while the many species of CaUosclurus belong to the other. 

 Menetes alone is rather more doubtiul, its peculiarly slendei- 

 shafted baculum having a blade somewhat connecting the 

 two types. 



Observations on the forms found in allied groups, in 

 Tamias, Ciullus^ the flying squirrels, and others must be 

 reserved for a future paper. 



XXXV. — On some Pteropine Bat!^ from Vulcan and Damjaer 

 Islands, off ihe S.E. Coast of Sew Guinea. By Oldfilld 

 TUOMAS. 



(Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) 



TuE British Museum has received a small collection of 

 mammals obtained by Mr. A. S. Meek on the two islands 

 mentioned in the title, and among them are examjiles of three 

 members of the genus Pteropus. One of these, from Dampier 

 Island, may be referred to P. hypomelamis luleus, but its 

 representative in Vulcan Island appears to be a new race 

 of that widely distributed species. W^ith P. h. luteus, 

 on Dampier Island, there also occurs a new form of the 

 P. mariannus group. 



Pteropus hasiliscuSj sp. n. 



General characters as in P. tonganus and vanicoreyi.-in, the 

 species beingsimilarly a large-eyed memberof the/-*. »/jar<u7iHM5 

 group. Colour of head above pale greyish brown, passing 

 gradually into the ochraceous butty of the mantle. Back 



