THE FAMILIES AND GENEEA OF BATS. 45 



of the teeeth with one nearly resembling that of the Megachiroptera. 

 But, even if this were not true, in a group of characteristically 

 volant animals the chief taxonomic importance must be assigned to 

 the development of the wings. 



Family PTEROPID^E Gray. 



1821. Pteropidw Gray, London Medical Repository, XV, p. 299, April 1, 

 1821. 



1827. Pteropina Lesson, Man. de Mammalogie, p. 99. 



1831. Pteropina Bonapabte, Saggio di una distrib. metodica degli Anim. 

 Vert, p. 15. 



1838. Pteropodidw Bonaparte, Nuovi Annali delle Scienze Naturali, Bo- 

 logna, Anno I, Tomo II, p. 112. 



1838. Pteropina Gray, Mag. Zool. and Bot, II, p. 502, December, 1838. 



1854. [Pteropidw] " Pteropides " Gervais, Hist. Nat. des Mamm., p. 184. 



1865. Pteropi Peters, Monatsber. k. preuss. Akad. Wissensch.. Berlin, p. 256. 



1872. Pteropodidw Gill, Arrangement of the Families of Mammals, p. 18. 



1875. Pteropidw Dobson, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 4th ser., XVI, p. 346, 

 November, 1875. 



1878. Pteropodidw Dobson, Catal. Chiropt. Brit. Mus., p. 3. 



1892. Pteropodidw Winge, Jordfundne og nulevende Plagermus (Chiroptera) 

 fra Lagoa Santa, Minas Geraes, Brasilien, p. 24. 



1899. Pteropodidw Matschie, Flederm. des Berliner Mus. fur Naturk., p. 1. 



Geographic distribution. — Same as that of the suborder Mega- 

 chiroptera. 



Characters. — As in the suborder. 



Principal, subdivisions. — The family Pteropidae is divisible into 

 four groups worthy of recognition as subfamilies. 



KEY to the subfamilies of pteropid^e. . 



Premaxillaries broadly united anteriorly. 



Molars with blunt, indistinct cusps Nyctymenin^b, p. 75. 



Molars with at least 5 sharp cusps each Harpyionycterin^e, p. 77. 



Premaxillaries separate or barely united anteriorly. 



Tongue not highly extensible ; molars and incisors not specially reduced 

 in size ; braincase never strongly deflected ; upper surface of mandib- 

 ular symphysis forming conspicuous angle with alveolar line, 



Pteropin^e, p. 45. 

 Tongue highly extensible ; molars and incisors considerably reduced in 

 size ; braincase strongly deflected ; upper surface of mandibular sym- 

 physis parallel with alveolar line Kicdotin^e, p. 68. 



Subfamily PTEROPINJE. 



1878. Pteropodidw Dobson, Catal. Chiropt. Brit. Mus., p. 3 (part ; Pteropi 



part). 

 1891. Pteropodinw Flower and Lydekker, Mammals living and extinct, 



p. 650. 

 1899. Pteropodidw Matschie, Flederm. des Berliner Mus. fur Naturk^p. 1 



(part) . 



