368 EMBALLONTJRID^. 



Upper incisors very small and feeble, closer to each other than to 

 the canines ; lower incisors also very smaU, trifid, and in the direc- 

 tion of the jaws ; upper canines with a prominent internal basal 

 cusp ; first upper premolar small, with an anterior basal cusp, close 

 to the base of the canine, and removed from the second premolar 

 by a space ; in the lower jaw the premolars are similarly placed, 

 but the second is narrow and long, and the anterior basal cusp is 

 scarcely visible. 



Length (of an adult c? ), head and body l"-65, tail 0"*55, head 

 0"-6, ear 0"-5, tragus 0"'15, forearm l"-4, thumb 0""25; third linger 

 — metacarp. l"-35, 1st ph. 0"-45, 2nd ph. 0"-6 ; fourth finger — 

 metacarp. 1"-1, 1st ph. 0"-3, 2nd ph. 0"-25 ; fifth finger — metacarp. 

 1", 1st ph. 0"-3, 2nd ph. 0"-2; tibia 0"-5, calcaneum 0"-68, foot 

 0"-25. 



Hah. Guatemala, Honduras, British Guiana ; Surinam ; Brazil ; 

 Peruvian Amazons. 



This very remarkable small species, so easily distinguished by the 

 great length of the extremity of the muzzle and by its narrow ears, 

 is abundant in the vicinity of streams throughout the tropical parts 

 of Central and South America. It is commonly found during day, 

 resting on the vertical faces of rocks or on the underside of the 

 slanting trunks of trees growing on the banks of rivers, so that the 

 names used by Spix to designate the species, Prohoscidea saxatilis et 

 rivalis, are very appropriate. Its manner of resting on such smooth 

 surfaces was first noticed by the writer when travelling in British 

 Guiana in 1873. On the margin of a wide drain leading to the sea 

 from some sugar-plantations, a square-cut post of the exceedingly 

 hard " green-heart " wood had been driven obliquely into the ground, 

 so that one side slightly overhung the water. To this smooth side 

 a colony of about twelve individuals of Rli. naso were clinging, head 

 downwards, with anterior and posterior extremities separated out- 

 wards, and the interfemoral membrane laid flat against the surface 

 of the wood, so that they looked like so many pinned specimens of 

 the genus Papilio, the separated legs resembling the tail-like pro- 

 jections from the posterior margins of the wings of these insects. 

 So flatly did they adhere to the smooth surface of the wood, and so 

 weU did the greyish fur of their bodies and the smaU. tufts of greyish 

 hairs on the antebrachial membrane and on the wing-membrane on 

 the outer side of the forearm counterfeit the weathered surface of 

 the wood, that it was some time before the little colony could be 

 distinguished by those to whom its hiding-place was pointed out. 



As the shades of evening approach, even before the sun has 

 touched the horizon, Wi. naso may be seen flitting rapidly along 

 the streams, no doubt in search of smaU insects which either hover 

 close to, or rest upon, the surface of the smooth water, the capture 

 of which its projecting upper lip and downward direction of the 

 opening of the mouth are peculiarly adapted to effect. 



a. 2 ad., al. Honduras. 



b. $ ad., al. Ysabel de Guatemala. 0. Salvin, Esq. [C.]. 



