29 



TRIBE IIL— MONOPHALANGIA ISTIOPHORA. 



Syn. Istiophori, (in part.) — Spix, Sim. et Vespert. Bras. 



Rhinolophina — Gray, in Mag. Zool. and Bot. II Less. Mam. 



CHARACTERS OF THE TRIBE. 



The Index with only one ossified phalanx, the other fingers with two. 

 The Nose with one or moie leafy appendages. 



GENUS XIII. MEGADERMA— BROAD-WINGED BATS. 



Syn. Les Megadermes. — Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 1 18. 



Megaderma Geoff. Ann. Mus. XV. 197, etal. 



Lavia. — Gray, in Mag. Zool. et Bot. II. 



GENERIC CHARACTERS. 

 rr T, T7 'I C+(F+3)M 10 



The Dental Formula | 2+c+ |^ F + 3)M = l6 =2P - 



The Nose with three appendages, the upper one vertical, the second 

 horizontal, and the lower resembling a horse-shoe. 



The Ears very large, united over the forehead ; the opercula promi- 

 nent. 



The Tongue short and slender. 



The Interfemoral Membrane bounded by a straight margin.' 



The Tail wanting. 



Inhabit Africa and the East Indies. 



The Broad-winged Bats have their nasal appendages as compli- 

 cated as those of the Phyllostoines ; the opercula are large, often 

 furcated ; the conchas of the ears are very ample, and blended one 

 into the other on the top of the head ; the tongue and lips are 

 smooth ; the interfemoral membrane entire ; and the tail wanting. 

 Their incisors are four in the lower jaw ; these teeth are wanting in 

 the upper, and the intermaxillary cartilage never becomes ossified. 



They all come from different parts of the Old Continent, such as 

 Africa, and the Eastern Archipelago; and, like the Phyllostomes, 

 may most readily be distinguished among themselves by the forms 

 of their nasal appendages. 



The Megadermata constitute a link in the animal series which, in an 

 interesting manner, connects the Phyllostomes we have left, with the 

 Genus Rhinolophus, to which we next proceed. This link is in itself 

 perfectly circumscribed, and on either side there is an interval or hiatus 

 which is distinctly marked. The Broad-winged Bats are furnished with 

 an operculum, and have no tail, so that they cannot be confounded with 

 the Rhinolophi. In these points they agree with the Phyllostomes, but 

 then they want the long tongue, and the extraordinary papilla; and warts 

 with which these last are furnished : neither their tongue, nor their lips, 

 which are smooth, and without notches or tubercles, are peculiarly formed 

 for the purpose of sucking. They are not endowed with the additional 

 phalanx upon the middle finger, and yet none of the Bats are more copi- 

 ously supplied with the dermal development, as it respects the wings and 

 other parts. The ears are so large that they not only come into contact, 

 but unite to a greater or less extent above the forehead. The nasal ap- 

 pendage likewise so superabounds, that, in addition to the horse-shoe, 

 and nose-leaf proper, there is an additional one which protrudes on either 

 side horizontally from between the nostrils, and acts as a distinct valve to 

 these apertures. M. GeofFroy speculates whether it be owing to the extra- 

 ordinary development of this apparatus that there is a diminution, or ra- 

 ther, we might say, extinction of the intermaxillary bones, and decidedly 

 inclines to this belief. Be this, however, as it may, the fact remains the 

 same, viz. that the intermaxillary bones are either quite wanting, or dege- 

 nerate into mere membranes, which are suspended in the soft parts of the 

 upper lip : their absence accounts for the want of the upper incisors. 



The species in this genus have no tail, but possess an interfemoral 

 membrane, which is of very considerable dimensions ; and, to make up 

 the deficiency arising from the want of the former appendage, we find 

 there are two strong ligaments which have their origin in the sciatic re- 

 gion, and run obliquely to the heels ; they are inclosed in the coats of the 

 membrane, and contribute to its support. 



The geographical distribution of these Megadermata, as well as of the 

 Rhinolophi, is the Old World, more especially the Indian Archipelago, 

 though they are also found on the continents of Asia and Africa ; whilst 

 the Phyllostomes, as we have seen, are confined to the New World. 



1. MEGADERMA SPASMA TREFOIL BROAD-WINGED BAT. 



Syn. Le Spasme de Ternate. — Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 118. 

 Megaderma Spasma. — Geoff. Ann. Mus. XV. 193. 

 VOL. II. 



Cordated Bat Penn. Quadr. No. 499. 



Le Thefle de Java Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 118. 



Megaderma trifolium. — Geoff. Ann. Mus. XV. 197. 

 Icon. Geoff. Ann. Mus. XV. ,pl. 12, (heads Spasme and Trefle.) — Seba, pi. 



56, fig. 1, copied in Schreb. pi. 4S, and again from the latter in Shaw, 



Zool. pi. 42. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



The Vertical Nasal Appendage ovate or cordate, resembling the 

 horizontal; size, one-fifth of the auricle. 

 The Opercula hi- or tri-lobed. 

 Inhabits Ternate and Java. 



This very singular-looking Bat has long occupied a place in the annals 

 of the science, without much being actually known of its history. It is 

 the Glis volans Ternalanus of Seba, and the Vespertilio Spasma of Lin- 

 najus and Cuvier, in Tab. Element, des Animaux. Long after the disco- 

 very of Seba, M. Leschenault de la Tour encountered in Java a Bat, 

 which he sent, along with a description, to Paris, where it fell under the 

 inspection of M. GeofFroy, who regarded it as a new and distinct species, 

 a view which subsequently was adopted in the Regne Animal, and in most 

 systematic works. Additional information, we apprehend, has led M. 

 Temminck and J. B. Fischer to regard these animals as one. 



The Spasma exhibits very strikingly the three-crested appearance of the 

 nasal appendages of the genus. It has first a large horse-shoe, then 

 what is called the horizontal leaf, and, finally, the perpendicular one; 

 these latter are heart-shaped, with the base downwards ; the lower is the 

 larger, and more immediately covers the entrance of the nostrils. The 

 name Trifolium has been applied to this animal from the peculiar shape 

 of its very large operculum, having three not very symmetrical lobes, the 

 central one of which is much the longest, and is acutely pointed. The 

 auricles correspond to the great size of the opercula: they are very 

 broad, full, and high ; they meet over the forehead, and are there united 

 to about one-third of their extent. The only other specific differ- 

 ences which require to be dwelt upon regard the membranes. The 

 spurs or spicula of the tarsus are long, so affording firm support to the 

 interfemoral membrane, and the alar membranes are very diaphanous, 

 being freer from tendinous fibres than some of their congeners. Its fur 

 is very long and soft, and its colour is mouse-grey. Seba described the 

 animal he observed as having its forehead a light red, and the other parts 

 of its body of a russet hue. The length of the head and body is four 

 inches, of the interfemoral membrane one and a half, the extreme breadth 

 ten and a half inches. 



The last named observer found this animal in the island of Ternate, 

 and Leschenault in Java. Of its habits nothing has yet been recorded. 



2. MEGADERMA LYRA LYRE-NOSED BROAD-WINGED BAT. 



Syn. La Lyre — Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 118. 



Icon, Megaderma Lyra Geoff. Ann. Mus. XV. 198, pi. 12, fig. and 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



' The Vertical Nasal Appendage rectangular; the horizontal one-half 

 less. 



Inhabits India. 



The size of the Lyre-nosed Bat very nearly agrees with that of the preced- 

 ing species. M. Geoffroy received a specimen of the animal from Holland, 

 and hence inferred it must have been procured from some of the Dutch 

 Colonies in the East Indies : the name he conferred on it agrees perfectly 

 with the form of the nasal leaf. Mr Gray informs us there is a specimen 

 in the British Museum. 



The mid-rib of the nose-leaf appears more prominent than in the 

 Phyllostomes, though in reality it is not so thick ; the appearance being 

 owing to a fold extending the whole length of the lateral lobes, which 

 are somewhat hollow, and curve forward. The leaf at its upper ex- 

 tremity is square pointed, as may be proved by unfolding it, otherwise 

 it seems to terminate in three points, the centre one being the most 

 projecting. The lateral lobes are continuous with the horse-shor, 

 or the semicircular ridge situate before the nostrils. Besides these, there 

 is the fold which covers the base of the cone ; it is concentric with the 

 horse-shoe, and takes its rise from the root of the projection ; adhering 



