NO. 5 MAMMALS OF PANAMA — GOLDMAN 221 



incisors are less conical than in the genera mentioned and scarcely 

 project beyond the plane of the canines. One pair only of upper 

 premolars and one of lower incisors are present. The teeth are 26 in 

 number. 



MOLOSSUS COIBENSIS Allen 



Coiba Island Mastiff Bat 



Molossus coibensis Allen, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. 20, p. 227, 

 June 29, 1904. Type from Coiba Island, Panama. 



The Coiba Island mastiff bat is a small, short-haired, glossy species 

 of a dark chestnut brown or rusty blackish general color. The short 

 broad leathery ears hang far forward, and over-shadow the eyes. 

 The long tail projects well beyond the interfemoral membrane. The 

 forearm measures about 36.5 millimeters. 



Fig. 24. — Molossus coibensis. 

 No. 202042, U. S. Nat. Mus. About nat. size. 



This dark form was based by Dr. Allen on four specimens from 

 Coiba Island, originally referred by him (1904, p. 78) to Molossus 

 obscarus. It is nearly related to other forms of the Molossus 

 pygmaeus group, at least some of which will no doubt eventually 

 require reduction to subspecific rank. 



In 191 1 numbers of these bats inhabited the crevices between the 

 corrugated iron roofs and the ceilings of old French buildings at 

 Tabernilla and San Pablo. When a section of the iron roof of a 

 building at San Pablo was lifted, the bats, finding themselves sud- 

 denly exposed to the full light of day, crawled rapidly over boards 

 and plaster toward the cover of neighboring crevices. At Bohio a 

 single individual was found clinging to the wall of a well-lighted 

 room in the old police station. The windows were covered with 

 mosquito netting and the bat had probably entered the room through 

 a small hole in the ceiling, at night, and failed to find its way out 

 again. Tabernilla, San Pablo, and Bohio are all localities now sub- 

 merged in Gatun Lake. 



A specimen probably assignable to M. coibensis was recorded by 

 Thomas (1903a, p. 39) from Gobernador Island, under the name 

 Molossus obscurus. Two examples of M. coibensis from San Pablo 

 were referred to M. crassicaudatus by G. M. Allen (1908, p. 60). 



