PHTLLOSTOMID^. 445 



ployed in flj'iug, and with the manifestly adhesive nature of the sole 

 of the foot and inferior surface of the legs, lead me to believe that 

 this species hunts for its insect food, not only in the air, but also on 

 the branches and leaves of trees, among -which its peculiarities of 

 structure -would, without doubt, enable it to creep about with ease 

 and security. 



a. ad. sk. (type). New Zealand. 



(Figured in the ' Voyage of the Erebus and Terror.') 



h. ad. sk. New Zealand. Sir E. Belcher. 



c. ad.sk. New Zealand. Sir G. Grey [0.]. 



d. 2 ad., al. New Zealand. Capt. Stokes [P.]. 

 e,f. ad. sks., in al. Wellington, N. Zealand. Colonial Museum [P.]. 

 g. skeleton (imperfect). 



Family PHYLLOSTOMID.^. 



PhyUostomata, Peters, MB. Akad. Be)-l. 1865, p. 256. 

 PhyUostomidfe, Ch-ay, Dohson, Ann. ^ Mag. Nat, Hist. 1875, xvi. 

 p. 347. 



Bats -with cutaneous processes either surrounding or close to the 

 nasal apertures ; with moderately large ears and well-developed 

 tragi ; with tliree phalanges in the middle and one in the index 

 finger ; and with, generally, well-developed united premasillary 

 bones. 



The teeth vary very considerably in number and form in the dif- 

 ferent groups into which the family is divisible, ranging from 36 in 

 the genus Glossonyctei-is to 20 in Desmodus. The upper middle 

 incisors are generally well developed ; the number of true molars 

 extremely variable in some genera. 



Antebrachial membrane weU. developed (except in the Desmo- 

 dontes), extending along the forearm and enclosing the base of the 

 thumb; tibia rather long and straight, fibula slender or rudi- 

 mentary ; tail very variable, in a fcAv genera well developed, in most 

 either very short or rudimentary or altogether absent. 



These Bats are readily distinguished, by the presence of a third 

 phalanx in the middle finger, associated with either distinct cutaneous 

 nasal appendages or with well-developed central upper incisors, or 

 with both. Unlike the E7iinohphidce, their eyes are generally large 

 and the tragus well developed, maintaining almost the same form 

 throughout the different species, however much the other parts of 

 the body may vary in shape. 



Their fur is generally of a duU colour, and the face and back (in 

 the group Stenodermata especially) are often marked with white 

 streaks, as in the Pteroj>odidce, of which they take the place in the 

 "Western Hemisphere. A few species, probably aU those with the 



