Mr. Lay on a Species of Pteropus. 457 



lately in fishing for pearls off the Bank of Cubagua, near Margarita, he 

 once saw a large herd of these fishes passing near him, many of which 

 leaped up in the manner just described. Sharks, I am told, never ap- 

 proach the Sea Devil, unless it be wounded or dead ; when they pursue 

 it so greedily, that, in one instance, they devoured a great portion of a 

 fish which had been struck, before it could be drawn to the shore. 



Edw. Nath. Bancroft. 



Art. LVI. Observations on a species of Pteropus from 

 Bonin. By G. Tr a descant Lav, Esq 



During the short stay of the Blossom at the Island of Bonin I had 

 frequent opportunities of observing the habits of a species of Pteropus, 

 Briss., which appears to differ from all that have been previously describ- 

 ed in its nearly uniform colour, and in the length and proportion of its 

 teeth. I shall denominate it pselaphon in allusion to the habit of feeling 

 instead of seeing its way in the day time. 



Alar membrane or the expansion of the integuments, broad, extended, 

 rather deeply cut, black in the living animal, but becoming brownish 

 on drying: inter femoral membrane about half an inch in width towards 

 its extremities, narrower and almost rudimentary near the coccyx, 

 where it is entirely concealed by the long hairs of the body, hairy on 

 nearly the whole of its upper, and on about one half of its under 

 surface. Fur smooth and adpressed on the back, loose and apparently 

 frizzled on the shoulders, neck, head, and under surface, extending 

 along the arm and fore-arm, and somewhat on the under surface of 

 the alar membranes, brownish black, with an intermixture of longer gray 

 hairs. These latter appear to be more numerous where the fur is loose, 

 and give to the shoulders, neck, head, and under surface a lighter 

 colour, approaching slightly to ferruginous; the ferruginous tint being 

 most remarkable at the coccyx and near the anus. The claws are all 

 cutting, and the first of them is frequently employed by the animal 



