BATS — INSECT-EATERS 63 



(M. brachycephala) is restricted to the Isle of St. Thomas, in the Gulf of 

 Guinea. 



All the foregoing fruit-bats belong to the typical subfamily Pteropodince ; 

 a second subfamily, the Macroglossince, which is mainly Asiatic and Australasian 

 in distribution, is represented in Ethiopian Africa by a single western species, 

 Megaloglossus woermanni, which is the sole member of its genus. 



Among the insect-eating section of the order (Microchiroptera), tomb-bats of 

 the widely spread genus Taphozous, belonging to the free-tailed group (Emballo- 

 nuridce), are well represented in Africa. 



In view of the remarkable affinity existing between certain African and South 

 American rodents (which are quite distinct from those of any other part of the 

 world), to say nothing of the relationship between the mud-fishes of the two 

 continents, it is interesting to find that a South American type of bat occurs 

 in West Africa. When first described, this bat was referred to a common 

 African genus, but on re-examination it has been found, from the nature of the 

 teeth and other characters, to be nearly related to the American mastiff-bats 

 (Molossus, etc.), which are chiefly found in Central and South America. The 

 African species, however, indicates a genus by itself, and has been named Eomops 

 whiteleyi. A second African representative of the Molossince (or Molossidce, as 

 they are now often termed) is Platymops macmillani, from the district between 

 Adis Ababa and Lake Rudolf, which is the sole representative of its genus. It is 

 distinguished from its relatives the mastiff-bats by the absence of wrinkles in the 

 lips and the curiously flattened head. Whether these bats serve in any way to 

 confirm the theory of a former land-connection between Africa and South America 

 is doubtful. If their ancestors were blown across the Atlantic from the west the 

 question must be answered in the negative ; as it must also be if we assume that 

 the progenitors of the African and the South American mastiff-bats were natives 

 of the Northern Hemisphere. 



Special mention may also be made of Welwitsch's bat (Myotis welwitschi), 

 remarkable for its brilliant coloration. On the upper surface this bat is reddish, 

 while below it is pale yellow with the bright orange-yellow membrane between 

 the legs margined with black and dotted with small sable spots. This species 

 appears to be confined to Angola. Another noteworthy species is the butterfly- 

 bat (Chalinolobus variegatus) of Damaraland ; while the Bourbon bat (Scotophilus 

 borbonicus) is likewise worthy of mention as a tri-coloured species. The genera 

 to which both these species belong are widely distributed. With the bare mention 

 that the genus Nycteris is common to the Indian and Ethiopian regions, these brief 

 notes on African bats must be brought to a conclusion, as the subject is much too 

 large for anything approaching a complete summary. 



The order of insect-eating mammals is represented in Ethiopian 

 Africa by a number of altogether peculiar generic types, as well as 

 by a few common to other parts of the world. Among the latter is the white- 

 bellied hedgehog (Erinaceus albiventris), a species distinguished by the absence of 

 the first toe of the hind-foot, although traces of its claw remain. Of the jumping- 

 shrews, which have been mentioned in the preceding chapter as forming a family- 

 group (Macroscelidicke) peculiar to the African continent, there are a number of 



