THE ROUSSETTE BATS. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



The Hair brown, varying to red and yellow, thick and coarse. 

 The Ears small and pointed. The Interfemoral Membrane short, 

 concealed. 



Inhabits Isle of France and Bourbon. 



The Common Roussette is about the size of the European Squirrels, 

 and the expanse across the wing somewhat less than in the smaller speci- 

 mens of Edwards' Bat. The ear is small and pointed. The appearance 

 of the teeth very much corresponds to that described of the Macklotii, 

 (our No. 8,) although the canines are not quite so strong, more acute and 

 approximated, and the incisors are smaller. The interfemoral membrane 

 is short, and entirely hid under the hair of the coccygeal region. The fur 

 is thick and coarse. In the old males the great dark brown space which 

 covers the shoulders runs down the spine to an obtuse point, the rest 

 of the back is brownish-yellow ; the abdomen and chest are of a dark red- 

 dish-brown ; the pubic region and the arms of a lighter hue. In the 

 aged females there is a broad black band runs down the centre of the back, 

 which strikingly contrasts with the pale colour of the sides ; the head is 

 a pale brown ; the throat, chest, and abdomen, a deep chestnut ; the ex- 

 tremities, yellowish-brown. The young, of a year old, have the body and 

 members well covered with long and downy fur, generally smooth, but 

 somewhat curled round the neck ; the head is yellowish-grey, mixed with 

 silky hairs of a deep brown ; the nape, sides of the neck, and chest, are 

 covered with a downy fur, more or less curled, and of a rust-red colour, 

 livelier at the chest than the shoulders ; the chest, a part of the abdomen, 

 and the back, are sooty-black, mixed with grey silky hair. 



As to its habitat, Temminck gives the Isles of France and Bourbon as 

 certain. It is also said to be found in Madagascar, and perhaps in Africa. 

 Its flesh is eaten freely, and is generally considered very agreeable, the 

 young being preferred. Its habits are like those of its congeners. 



12. PTEROPUS RUBRICOLLIS RED-NECKED ROUSSETTE. 



Syn. La Rougette Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. p. 114. 



Roussette a cou Rouge. — Pteropus rubricollis Geoff. Ann. Mus. 



XV. 93. 



Roussette Rougette. — P. rubricollis Temm. Mon. Mam. I. p. 



183. 

 Icon. La Rougette. — Buff. Hist. Nat. X. pi. 17. 



specific characters. 



The Hair very copious ; red on the neck ; yellowish on the head ; dark 

 brown on the chest. 



The Ears small and concealed. The Interfemoral Membrane ru- 

 dimentary and concealed. 



Inhabits Islands of Bourbon and Madagascar. 



The name, Red-necked Roussette, is unfortunately chosen, inasmuch 

 as the great majority of the genus have this character. A broad golden- 

 red collar, however, is in this one sufficiently conspicuous ; the head, and 

 all the upper parts of the body, are of a yellowish-brown, mixed with silky 

 hairs of bright yellow ; chest, dark brown: the inferior parts are more 

 grey than the back, but varied in the same manner. The dimensions of 

 this species are half those of our first species. The incisors are more ap- 

 proximated, the middle ones being contiguous ; in the lower jaw, again, 

 they are in pairs. The ears are small, and hid under the fur ; the inter, 

 femoral membrane is rudimentary, and also hid. The robe is downy, very 

 curly, long, rough, and very abundant. 



This species is usually stated to inhabit the Islands of Bourbon and Ma- 

 dagascar. It must be distinguished from the P. rubricollis of Siebold. 

 (See our species 9.) 



13. PTEROPUS ALECTO THE GREAT-WINGED ROUSSETTE. 



Syn. Roussette Alecto Pteropus Alecto Temm. Mon. Mam. II. 75. 



Icon. 



specific characters. 



The Body stout and short. The Alar Membranes comparatively- 

 very large. The Interfemoral Membrane rudimentary. The Ears 

 naked, short, and pointed. 



The Hair mostly black, mixed with chestnut. 



Inhabits Celebes. 



This species, observed by Temminck in the Leyden Museum, has 

 very recently been described. It is remarkable for its stout short 



body ; for the very great extent of the wings in proportion to the size 

 of the trunk ; and, finally, for nearly the total want of the coccygeal 

 membrane, where only a fold of the skin is to be found. The alar 

 membrane rises from the sides, so making the clad portion of the back the 

 broader. The upper incisors are in pairs ; the lower are crowded toge- 

 ther. The robe is short, coarse, and downy. The head, front of the 

 neck, and lower parts of the body, together with the shoulders and back, 

 are perfectly black ; the eyes and circumference of the face are very 

 deep chestnut ; the nape and sides of the neck, bright chestnut ; the 

 ears are naked, short, and pointed. The regions of the arm and fore-arm 

 are clad beneath with a fine black fur. 



The individual which supplied this description was taken in the Island 

 Celebes. 



14. PTEROPUS PALLIDUS THE PALE ROUSSETTE. 



Syn. Roussette pale, ou feuille morte. — Pteropus Paxudus Temm. 



Mon. Mam. I. p. 184, II. 77. 

 Icon. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



The Hair brownish, varied with grey and white. 



The Ears short and round. The Muzzle short and obtuse. The 

 Membranes clear brown. The Interfemoral Membrane united to the 

 coccyx, and concealed. 



Inhabits Island of Bonda, also Sumatra and Malacca. 



This Roussette is of medium size, being equal in dimensions to an Edu- 

 lis a year old. The muzzle is short, and somewhat obtuse; the eyes 

 more distant from the ears than from the point of the nose ; the ears are 

 short and round ; the interfemoral membrane united to the base of the 

 coccyx by a rudiment half a line broad, and entirely hid under the fur ; 

 all the membranes of a clear brown colour. The upper incisors are se- 

 parated ; the lower are crowded, the lateral ones being larger than the 

 others. There is no anomalous molar in the upper jaw, but four true 

 ones ; in the lower there is an anormal tooth and five molars, the last very 

 small and contiguous. Its coat is very short, and composed of brown, 

 grey, and white hairs ; the nape, shoulders, and collar, are of a bright rust- 

 colour in adults, and of a paler red in the young; the whole of the back 

 is covered with close, smooth hair, of a pale brown colour, produced by 

 a mixture of brown and white hairs. The head, throat, sides, and abdo- 

 men, are of the colour of a decayed leaf- There is no difference in the 

 markings of the sexes, but the young are paler. This species, then, is 

 distinguished by having no small false molar in the upper jaw, but three 

 large and one small one ; by its brown hue, like that of a dead leaf, and 

 its small ears, rounded at the point. No varieties of marking have been 

 discovered on the whole number that have been examined : it is also re- 

 markable for the small extent of the cutaneous membrane that adheres, 

 the membrane of the back being connected with the muscles to the extent 

 of only three or four lines. 



The Pale Roussette inhabits the Island of Bonda, where it is very 

 common ; also Sumatra and Malacca. 



15. 



PTEROPUS KERAUDRENIUS KERAUDREN'S 



ROUSSETTE. 



Syn. Roussette Keraudren Pteropus Keraudrenius. — Quoy et Gaim. 



Zool. de l'Uran. 1 — Temm. Mon. Mam. I. 186. 

 Icon. Roussette Keraudren. — Quoy et Gaim. Zool. de l'Uran. pi. 3. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



The Hair on the back close, brown, and black ; on the nape frizzly, 

 reddish-yellow. 



The Membranes deep black. The Alar commencing near the median 

 line. The Ears and Interfemoral Membrane small. 



Inhabits Marian Islands. 



We owe the discovery of this Roussette to the Naturalists of Captain 

 Freycinet's expedition, who named it from M. Keraudren, Inspector Ge- 

 neral of the French Marine. Messrs Quoy and Gaimard report that 

 they fly about in bright day, and suspend themselves in the trees where 

 they build their nests, in holes, and even among rocks. They have but 

 one young at a time, which clings to the mother even when flying. 

 The total length of this Bat is from seven to nine or ten inches; the 

 expanse from wing to wing reaching to about twenty-five. The in- 

 terfemoral membrane of this Roussette is rudimentary at the coccyx, 

 where it is completely covered with hair ; the ears are short, and 

 roundish ; the wing arises at a small distance from the median line of the 



1 Zool. de l'Uran.— Voyage autour du Monde sur la Corvette l'Uranie, et b Physicienne par M. Freycinet. Zoologie par MM. Quoy et Gaimard. Paris, 1824. 



