1H88.] OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS. 479 



confirmatory of Prof. Leche's opinion ' that tlie specific distinction of 

 the latter is very doubtful, since they combine the small size and 

 the southern habitat of M. australis with the nearly naked inter- 

 femoral membrane of the true M. schreibersi. 



17. Emballonura nigrescens, G-r. 



c?. Aola. [35.] 



Forearm 35 millim. 



Judging by the large number of specimens contained in each of 

 Mr. Woodford's and in Dr. Guppy's collections, this is evidently the 

 commonest insectivorous Bat of the Solomons. 



RODENTIA. 



18. Mus iMPEEATOR, Thos. (Plate XXII. figs. 2, 3.) 

 Mus imperator, Thos. t. c. p. 157 (1888). 



a, b. cJ 2 . Aola. 



Size very large, exceeding that of any other true Mus. Fur 

 rather short and woolly. General colour uniform grizzled ashv grey 

 above, dirty white below : the longer hairs of the back black, the 

 shorter softer hairs grey, with shining ashy tips ; no elongated piles 

 on the posterior back ; whiskers very long, from three to four inches in 

 length. Ears thick, short, and rounded ; laid forward they do not 

 nearly reach to the eye, falling short of the posterior canthus by about 

 one third of an inch. Mammae 4 only, all inguinal. Feet (Plate 

 XXII. fig. 3) broad and stout ; palms anil soles naked, the pads large, 

 but far smaller than in the next species ; posterior pad elongate. Fifth 

 hind toe, without claw, reaching just to the end of the first phalanx of 

 the fourth. Tail decidedly shorter than the head and body, naked, 

 scaly, the scales averaging from 9 to 11 to the centimetre, unusually 

 smooth and litt'e prominent ; tip of tail almost scaleless. 



Skull (Plate XXII. fig. 2) stout and heavily built. Frontal pro- 

 cesses of premaxillse projecting backwards some way beyond the 

 posterior edge of the nasals. Interorbital space flat, parallel-sided, 

 its edges square but not beaded or ridged. Interparietal propor- 

 tionally small. Outer plate of infraorbital foramen but little deve- 

 loped, its anterior edge convex forwards above, slightly concave below. 

 Palatal foramina short, their posterior end about 5 millim. in front 

 of the level of m.' Bullae small and low, scarcely inflated. 



Incisors very deep antero-posteriorly, narrow transversely, their 

 enamel deep orange above, dull pale yellow below ; the lower pair 

 each with a very indistinct shallow groove down its anterior surface. 

 Pattern of molars as usual. 



Dimensions (in spirit) : — 



Heel to front Last 

 Head and Tail. Hind foot. Ear. Forearm of last foot-pad, 

 body. and hand, foot-pad. length. 



c? 350 258 66 19 83 35 13 



2 (ti/pe) 340 250 64 20 83 34 12-5 



Skull ( $ ): — Basal length 60 millim., greatest breadth 35 ; nasals, 



1 P.Z.S. 1884, p. 53. 



33* 



