396 



EMBALL0NURID,5i;. 



(For measurements see Table, p. 399.) 

 Hah. Brazilian Subregion and Peru. 



This species yaries considerably in size according to locality, and 

 in a less degree in the colour of the fur. 



^&» 



a. (S ad., al. Demerara. Purchased. 



h. cJ ad., al. British Guiana, Purchased. 



c. (J ad., al. Coast of South America. Oapt. Sir E. Belcher [C.]. 



d, e. c? ad., al. No history. 



/. S ad,, al. M. Lidth de Jeude. 



y. <3 ad., al. Mr. Brandt [C.]. 



Var. «. 



Vespertilio mastivus, Dahl, Skrifter af Naturhistorie-Selskahet Kjo- 

 henhavn, 1797, iv. 1, p. 132, pi'. 7 (vide Peteis, I. c). 



Noctilio dorsatus, Wied, I. c. p. 218 ; BlainviUe, Osteographie, pi. iv. 

 (skeleton), pi. xiy. (teeth). 



Noctilio mastivus, Oosse, P. Z. S. June 1847 ; Ann. ^ Mag. Nat. 

 Hist. XX. p. 424 (1847). 



Noctilio leporinus, Burmeister, Thiere Brasiliens, p. 60 (1854). 



About the size of N. leporimis, or probably larger ; distinguished 

 by a well-defined narrow line of fur of a pale yellow colour extend- 

 ing along the spine from the head to the tail ; the fur of the under 

 surface appears also to be of a paler colour than in N. leporinus. 



The following notes by Mr. Gosse were derived from an exami- 

 nation of thB living animal : — " Colour varying ; upper parts yellow- 

 brown, more or less bright ; a well-defined narrow line of pale 

 fulvous runs medially down the back from the head to the tail ; 

 under parts pale fawn, bright fulvous or orange ; face purplish ; the 

 muzzle and chin are much corrugated ; face warty ; the ears fall 

 into elegant curves. The volar membranes are delicately thin, 

 transparent, and glossy ; studded with mi ante, white, papillary 

 glands, which for the most part follow the course of the blood- 

 vessels, but are largest and most numerous in the vicinity of the 

 trunk. The membranes being attached along each side of the spine, 

 with an interval in the middle of the back of but seven tenths of an 

 inch, the body is, to a great extent, free. The wing, when at rest, 

 has but a single fold, the ultimate joint of the second and third 

 fingers being brought back upon the penultimate. The reproductive 

 organs are large and prominent. At the base of the penis are two 

 follicles, secreting a dark brown substance, dry and lumpy, but 

 friable between the fingers, most insufferably musky, the odour from 

 which is strongly diffused by the animal during life " *. 



(Por measurements see Table, p. 399.) 



Hah. Antillean and Brazilian Subregions. 



The habits of this variety were studied by Mr. Gosse during his 

 sojourn in Jamaica. Of some specimens obtained alive from the 

 interior of a hollow cotton- tree, he remarks {I.e. p. 426): — "I 

 presented to one a large cockroach, which he seized greedily and 



* P.Z. S.June 1847. 



