172 REPORT— 1880. 



In the fourth column I have arranged the measurements of the skin 

 of the adult female specimen from which my original description was 

 taken. The differences in the comparative measurements of the soft parts 

 (notably of the ear and muzzle) between this and the female spirit speci- 

 men in the third column, are easily explained by the distortion alwaj's 

 occurring even in the best preserved skins, and shows how very advisable 

 it is never, if possible, to describe from skins. It may be noticed that the 

 thumb and third finger of one of the male specimens is considerably 

 shorter than those of the other, though the rest of the measurements agree 

 remarkably closely. 



In my description of this species I took care to remark that, in the 

 adult animal, there wei-e two upper incisors, for I had noticed how, in 

 E. franqueti, the lateral upper incisors were liable to fall out (vide ' Catal. 

 Chiropt.' p. 13), and these well-preserved specimens show that my suspi- 

 cion that the dental formula did not really differ from that of the other 

 species was quite correct. As Dr. Smith remarks, the immature male has 

 four upper incisiors, quite similar to those in immature examples of 

 E. franqueti, one of the males has lost both upper outer incisors, the other 

 and the female has lost the left upper incisor only. 



The presence of two upper incisors _ only, which was fixed upon as a 

 distinguishing character by the author of the original description is, 

 therefore, conclusively shown to be a delusive one. We have, however, 

 in the form of the palate ridges, as previously noted by me {op. cit. p. 14, 

 pi. II. fig. 5), a valuable specific character which can be relied upon, 

 especially when taken into consideration with other characters. The 

 figure of the palate ridges referred to above, taken from the single indif- 

 ferently preserved female specimen, is sufficiently accurate, but, necessarily, 

 not so good as the excellent woodcut of the same parts in an adult male 

 individual, which illustrates Dr. Smith's paper. In this species, then, the 

 third palate ridge (that between the second upper premolars) is undivided 

 like the preceding ridge, while in E. franqueti (with which alone it may 

 be confounded) the corresponding ridge is represented only by a promi- 

 nent oval papilla at either side. 



As in E . franqiieti, the males of this species have large shoulder-pouches 

 measuring nearly half an inch across in specimens in alcohol, probably 

 much larger in living individuals. In these specimens a minute tail about 

 one-tenth of an inch long is concealed among the hairs. I was unable to 

 find any trace of one in the skin of the female specimen referred to, and 

 there is certainly none in any specimen of E. franqueti I have yet exa- 

 mined. This part of the body being evidently in a vanishing condition, its 

 suppression should not lead us, in the absence of other distinguishing 

 characters, to found therefrom even a distinct race, much less a species. 

 Hah. West Africa (Lagos, Gaboon, Old Calabar, Ogone). 



■ Pteropus germaini. 



Pteropus germaini, Dobson, 'P.Z.S.' 1878, p. 875.' 



Ears shorter than the muzzle, concealed by the long fur of the head, 

 triangular, obtusely pointed, thinly clothed throughout with soft hairs. 



' Scarcely was my work on the Chiroptera'out of the hands of the printer when 

 I was enabled, through the kindness of M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, to inspect some 

 most interesting specimens of bats lately received by the Paris Museum, among 

 which were the type of this species, and others to be referred to hereafter. 



