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THE TomB-Bats. 
Genus Taphozous. 
These derive both their popular and scientific titles from one of the species 
being found in vast numbers in the ancient Egyptian tombs, where they were 
discovered during the first French Expedition to that country. The tomb-bats 
differ from the other members of the group in having only two pairs of incisor 
teeth in the lower jaw, and also by the circumstance that the upper pair of these 
teeth are shed in the adult state. Instead of the glandular pouches on the wings, 
characteristic of the preceding genus, most of these bats have pouches of a similar 
nature on the under-surface otf the chin; these being chiefly, and in some cases 
exclusively, developed in the male sex. Many individuals, especially those taken 
during the hibernating season, have large deposits of fat around the root of the 
tail and the base of the thighs. This is probably 
for supporting life during the hibernating season, 
which, from the more northerly range of this 
species, would appear to be longer than among the 
other representatives of the genus. 
The tomb-bats are found in Africa, India, 
Burma, the Malayan region, and Australia, but are 
unknown in Polynesia. Most of them are dwellers 
in caves, fissures in rocks, and old buildings; but 
one Indian species has been observed on the stem 
of a palm tree. Perhaps the best known species is 
the naked - bellied tomb-bat (Taphozous nudiventris), readily recognised by its 
tawny fur and the naked under-parts. It is a large species, measuring 33 inches 
in length, exclusive of the tail, the span of the wing being about 20 inches. 
This species is widely distributed over Africa, and is the one found in the 
Kgyptian tombs, while it also extends into Syria and Palestine. According to 
Canon Tristram, the caves near the Sea of Galilee are inhabited by clouds of these 
bats. 
Writing of the Sumatran species (7. ajfinis), Mr. E. C. Buxton, as quoted 
by Dr. Dobson, states that at Telok Betong, in Sumatra, “there was an old, hollow 
cocoa-nut stump in the garden, and about twenty of these bats lived in it. At 
night, or rather early in the morning, they used to hang at the top of the verandah 
in company with several other kinds; and I found that they were all fruit-eaters, 
as there was a great deal of fruit-refuse under them.” Although, as Dr. Dobson 
remarks, this by no means proves the tomb-bat to be at times a fruit-eater, as, for 
HEAD OF TOMB-BAT,—After Dobson. 
all we know, the fruit-refuse might have been deposited by its companions, yet 
that this is probably the case is indicated by the partially frugivorous habits of 
some of its American allies. The tail of the tomb-bats perforates the membrane 
between the legs near its centre, and thus has the tip freely projecting. At the 
will of the animal it can, however, be withdrawn almost completely within the 
membrane, which thus forms a kind of sheath. 
