27 2 THE ANIMALS OF NEW GUINEA 



and stands out widely from the head, this being aided by combing, and thus giving 

 rise to the designation of " Mop-Heads." The beard is more strongly developed 

 than in African Negroes, and the body is more hairy ; the colour of the skin being 

 nearly black among the natives of New Caledonia, chocolate-brown in the Papuans 

 of New Guinea, and blue-black in the Fijians. 



In the fruit-eating group the tube-nosed bats of the genus 



Bats 



Nyctimene, or Harpyia, which, as mentioned in the preceding 

 chapter, are represented in the tropical forest-belt of northern Queensland and 

 extend as far west as Celebes, are essentially a Papuan type, four species, 

 N. papuanus, jV. cyclotis, N. geminus, and N. aello, being known from New Guinea 

 itself. Two bats from the Solomons, namely, Pteralopex atrata of Guadalcanar 

 Island on the eastern side of the group and Pt. anceps of Bougainville Island on 

 the west, alone constitute a genus characterised by the margins of the molar teeth 

 being elevated into distinct cusps. 



An allied genus with a large number of species ranging all over the Austro- 

 Malay area is represented in New Guinea by Dobsonia minor and D. magna, and 

 by other kinds in the Melanesian islands. To another section of fruit-bats belongs 

 Nesonycteris woodfordi of the Solomon group, the sole member of its genus, and 

 noticeable on account of its peculiar colouring, the fur being bright orange and 

 the membranes of the wings brown. Allied to Nesonycteris, but distinguished 

 from all other fruit-bats by the greater length of the tail, are the two species of 

 Notopteris, of which N. macdonaldi inhabits the New Hebrides and Fiji, and 

 N. neocaledonica New Caledonia. Among the insect-eating bats of the horseshoe 

 family, Rhinolophidce, the curious flower-nosed bat (Anthops ornatus) is remarkable 

 for the extraordinary development of the nose-leaf, which extends from eye to eye 

 and from the upper lip to the forehead, where it is surmounted by three small 

 balls, recalling those on an earl's coronet. The numerous other insectivorous bats 

 belong for the most part to widely ranging genera, such as Rhinolophus, 

 Hippjosiderus, Pipistrellus, Cerivoula, Emballonura, and Taphozous. 



Gnawing mammals are represented in New Guinea by various 



kinds of mice and rats (Muridw), among which a few may have been 

 introduced. In the first group are included two species, Hydromys beccarii, and 

 H. esox, belonging to the same genus as the Australian yellow-bellied water-rat, 

 to which reference has been made in the preceding chapter. To the same group 

 belongs Monckton's water-rat {Crossomys moncktoni), of British New Guinea, 

 which is about the size of an ordinary water-rat, and blackish grey above and 

 white beneath. It is more thoroughly specialised than Hydromys for an aquatic 

 existence, being in this respect likewise considerably in advance of the European 

 water-rat. This is indicated by the woolly character of the close, soft fur, the 

 twisted hind-feet, which are broad and paddle-like, the absence of external ears, 

 and the fringed tail, closely resembling that of the water-shrew. In possessing all 

 these features together, the black and white New Guinea water-rat is ahead of all 

 other rodents, for although the American musquash has a still more specialised 

 type of tail and similar fur and feet, it retains well-developed external ears. In 

 general appearance this rodent presents a striking superficial resemblance to 

 the Russian desman, a member of the insectivorous order. Parahydromys, or 



