79 



there is another special which in reaped of colour greatly resembles 

 it, indeed tar surpasses it. It is a native of China, and the speci- 

 men from which the illustration accompanying the present paper 

 was taken, was presented to the British Museum In Mr. Fortune, 



its precise locality being Shanghai. 



At the time the illustration was executed, I supposed, from tin- 

 extraordinary richness of its colour, that it could not be a known or 

 described species, and I had proposed to give it the name of Veep. 

 rufo-h'ujer. A careful examination, however, of specimens of Vetp, 

 formosa in the British and East India Company's Museums has 

 shown me that it differs from that .species chiefly in the intensity of 

 the colour of the fur and membranes, 



The examination of these examples led further to the inspection 

 of the Veep, rufo-piehu of Waterhouse, and again to some other 

 species possessed of similar tonus, hut not gifted with the beauty of 

 colour observed in those mentioned above. 



It will be the purpose of this communication to point out these 



species, and to endeavour to show that none are referable to the 

 genus Keru'oula (supposing it to be typified by the Kerivoula picta >. 

 in which some of them have been placed by Dr. Gray. 



In general form the examples of this group — scarcely of sub- 

 generic importance — bear some resemhlance to the common Vesp, 

 murinus of Europe. They all have a somewhat thick though not 

 broad muzzle, and a crown but slightly raised above the level of tin- 

 face ; nostrils which are removed from each other by only a moderate 

 interval, and that interval not emarginate in the specimens preservt d 

 in spirit, although very slightly so in those which are dried. The 

 ears are in all the species more or less ovoid, and deeply and evenly 

 hollowed or scooped out about the middle of the outer margin, a- 

 in the Veep, emarginatue of Europe. The tragus is rather long. 

 nearly straight, and diminishes evenly to an acute point. The mem- 

 branes of the wings extend to the base of the toes, and the latter 

 are much longer than the remaining part of the foot ; and as if for 

 the sake of uniformity, the terminal phalange of the thumb i> much 

 longer than the basal one*. 



The fur is everywhere thick and cottony, and is either bicoloured 

 or tricoloured, with a tendency to spread on to the upper surface of 

 the interfemoral membrane. 



At present I have not had the opportunity of examining the cra- 



* The great length of the toes in relation to the length of the fool depend) 

 very much on the elongation of the phalange next to the one bearing the 

 and it is the corresponding phalange of the thumb that is so much the to 

 It would appear worthy of inquiry whether the corresponding phalangei of tin- 

 fingers are relatively longer. This I do not find to he absolotelj the ease, although 

 in Minioj/teri.i reversed p r oport ion! of the comparative length of the toea with 

 the remaining part of the foot take place, accompanied bj eOTHepOflcting n I 

 proportions in the length of the phalanges of the BBgen. TbM I ■ tOCi arc 



short, and the phalange* of the fingers which answi r to then, sywlrj short ; in 

 the present group the toes ire long, and the joint of the thumb which ooiieapouda, 



elongated in accordance with them ; hot the wiag-jointl evhilnt no inch n 

 proportions. 



