1871.] G. E. Dobson— On Malayan Bats. 261 



Macroglossus spel^eus, Dobson, pi. x, fig. 3 — 4. 



Head long ; muzzle narrow ; nostrils with an intervening emargi- 

 nation which also passes down to the lip ; tongue very long 

 and pointed ; ears conical with rounded tips. 



Wings ample, from the sides of the hairy back; wing-membrane 

 attached to the back of the foot, and extending to the base of the 

 outer toe ; thumb rather short, terminal phalanx longest, with its 

 base included in the membrane; index finger of two phalanges with- 

 out any trace of a claw. 



Body clothed with very short and thinly spread fur of a uniform 

 dark brown colour. In front the fur of the head extends upon the 

 face as far as the inner canthuses of the eyes, leaving the remaining 

 portions naked ; from the back it passes on to the humerus and fore- 

 arm, covering half the length of the latter ; behind, on each side, it 

 covers a triangular portion of the interfemoral membrane, bounded 

 laterally by the femur, and posteriorly by a line drawn from the 

 knee joint to the base of the free portion of the tail ; beneath, the 

 whole surface of the antebrachial membrane is covered with short 

 hairs ; laterally, the fur of the sides extends upon the wing mem- 

 brane as far as a line drawn between the elbow and knee joints, 

 also outwards along the posterior margin of the forearm to the car- 

 pus, occupying a space varying in width from one inch behind the 

 elbow to half an inch or less at the middle of the forearm ; the un- 

 der surface of the humerus and femur, and half the length of the 

 forearm are also hairy. 



The tail is about half an inch in length, and rather thick, and 

 contrasts remarkably with the diminutive member possessed by the 

 only other known species of the genus, 31. minimus. 



On each side of, and a little behind the anal opening two small, 

 subcutaneous, gland-like bodies are placed. These bodies are oval, 

 have the skin tightly stretched over them, and are not covered by 

 the fur which clothes the neighbouring parts. As the specimens 

 from which the description of these bodies is taken are those of 

 females, it is not known if they also occur in the males of this spe- 

 cies. 



The tongue is very long, pointed, and protrusible ; in the spirit 



