18. MONOPHYLLCa. 603 



strewn with refuse from bread-fruit and clammy cherry (Cordia 

 collococca). 



Several individuals of this colony were obtained by Mr. Osbum, 

 and fed by him in captivity on the fruits of the clammy cherry. 

 Their mode of eating is thus described : — " The tongue was rapidly 

 protruded and drawn in again, and the juice and softer pulp cleared 

 away with great rapidity. I noticed he was very particular in clean- 

 ing out the bit of loose skin of berry, and licked my fingers of tho 

 juice spilt on them, carefully cleaning out any that had collected 

 under the nail. I then got another berry. The Bat was hanging 

 from the edge of the bos, its ventral surface against the side ; and 

 as I held the berry a little off so as to see the action of the tongue, 

 it had, whilst feeding, to bend the neck so as to raise the head a 

 little : this seemed to fatigue it. It therefore raised itself on one 

 wrist, and turned round so that its back was against the box's side ; 

 but as it did not change the position of the feet, of course the legs 

 crossed, the right foot now being on the left side, and vice versa. In 

 this odd position it appeared perfectly at ease, and went on licking 

 at a fresh berry with great relish. As the pulp and juice became 

 exhausted I expected he would drop it, and was prepared with an- 

 other berry ; but, to my surprise, he brought up the wrists to the 

 muzzle, took the berry between them, gave it two or three energetic 

 bites, and then held the berry off. So I now understood what the 

 unusually long thumbs were for ; for they applied themselves dex- 

 terously to the berry, held it firmly, and then, as it appeared to me, 

 by a reverse action of the two wrists the berry was turned round, a 

 fresh hold taken by the teeth, and the same licking-process renewed 

 till the seed in the centre was cleaned of thepulp, all but the little 

 bit which served for the last tooth-hold. It was then dropped, and 

 the eager little muzzle raised for more. 



" I then took them and put them among the twigs of Cordia. 

 They climbed about it, heads downwards, with the greatest ease. 

 The length of the legs and toes, their muscularity, and the absence 

 of any interfemoral were all obvious advantages where this habit 

 was constant, especially the power it gave them of turning as on a 

 pivot, but without moving the feet"*- 



18. MONOPHYLLUS. 



Monophyllus, Leach, Trans. Linn. Soe. xiii. p. 75 ; Tomes, P. Z. S. 

 1861, p. 91 ; Peters, MB. Akad. Perl. 18G8, p. 363. 



Muzzle longer and broader in front than in GlossojjJiac/a ; nose- 

 leaf, ears, and tragus as in that genus ; tongue longer and with fili- 

 form papillae on its upper surface ; interfemoral membrane short, 

 exceeded in length by the tail ; calcaneum rudimentary. 



— 2 2 I — 1 2 — 2 3 — 3 



Dentition. Inc. ^3^, c. y^^, pm. j^, m. ^^. 



* The above is an abridgement of Mr. Osburn's most interesting notes, 

 which are too long to quote here in extenso, Two skulls of specimens collected 

 by him, referred to above, are preserved in the Zoological Museum at Cambridge. 



