RHINOLOPHUS LARVATUS. 



of the nares, which are confined by a delicate membrane, and have a circular or oval 

 form. These are bomided, at the sides and underneath, by one or by several folds of 

 a membrane, which has some resemblance to a horse-shoe, whence the name of 

 Horse-shoe Bat has, from time immemorial, been applied to the European species 

 of Rhinolophus. Above, these nasal apertures are defined by a krge membrane, 

 which either rises perpendicularly to a point, in form of a lance, or stretches 

 transversely across the nose, and constitutes a prominent arch or conch. These are 

 the two principal forms which have been observed in the membranaceous -appa- 

 ratus of the Rhinolophi, and according to which they may be divided into two 

 sections ; but each has again several modifications, which serve to distinguish the 

 species. A cartilaginous partition of the nose projecting forward, which is called the 

 crest, and which may be compared to the bill of a cock, svu-mounted by its comb, 

 exists in several of those species, in which the superior membrane is lance-shaped 

 and erect. In considering this nasal apparatus, it should be observed, that it is 

 likewise a character in several other genera of this family, but in Rhinolophus it 

 has by far the greatest degree of development. 



The structure of the hps is very complicated: some of the fibres separate, and 

 are extended to the forehead, leaving a vacancy, which has been compared to a 

 funnel, at the bottom of which the nostrils are situated. The tail is long and entirely 

 enveloped in the interfemoral membrane ; its relative proportion to the legs, affords 

 a character which is employed in the discrimination of the species. The fur is gene- 

 rally characterized by a great length and softness; in several of the Javanese species 

 it possesses, on the upper parts of the body and on the breast, an uncommon degree 

 of tenderness and delicacy. 



The Rhinolophi belong to the second tribe, established by M. G. Cuvier, among 

 the Insectivorous Bats ; in this, the phalanx of the index is single, short, or rudi- 

 mentary, and each of the other fingers has only two phalanges. Of the other genera 

 which are contained in the Museum of the Honourable East India Company, Mega- 

 derma, Nycteris, and Vespertilio, also belong to this tribe. 



The teeth are very uniform in all the Javanese species of Rhinolophus ; their 

 structure is clearly exhibited in the natural character ; a few slight modifications of 

 the front teeth, above and underneath, wiU be noticed in the detail of the species. 



In describing the Rhinolophi, which I have collected in Java, I have to acknow- 

 ledge my obligation to Mr. Geoffroy, for the general illustration of this genus, which 



