1851.] species of Birds inhabiting Ceylon. 159 



remarkable and beautiful style of colouring ; but the dentition and 

 other characters differ.* The Nycticejus has the short and very 

 broad muzzle, strongly developed sagittal, occipital, and parietal crests, 

 and comparatively powerful teeth with the upper carnassiez adjoining 

 the canine, which we observe in N. Heathii and the species affined 

 to it ; and there are two prsemolars below, of which the second is the 

 longer. Vespertilio formosus (?) has three prsemolars below, of 

 which the medial (or that next to the carnassiez) is minute ; and the 

 upper carnassiez is widely separated from the canine, and in the interval 

 are one developed prsemolar, and posterior to this another which is ex- 

 cessively minute and liable to be overlooked : there are no ridges to the 

 skull, or the middle one is barely traceable ; the muzzle is compara- 

 tively narrow ; and there are two upper incisors on each side of equal 

 size : chaffron a little concave. In Kerivoula picta the chaffron is 

 highly concave, the muzzle again much narrower, and there are two 

 pairs of upper incisors of which the inner are longer, and so placed 

 that on a direct front view they are alone visible, the second pair being 

 concealed behind them ; in V. formosus (?) the four are equally visible 

 on a front view. There are two prsemolars of equal size between the 

 upper canine and the carnassiez, and two below of scarcely inferior size 

 to the third or lower carnassiez. Lastly, the ears of V. formosus (?) 

 are not those of a Kerivoula (as exemplified by K. picta), but are 

 deeply emarginated externally at one- third of their length from the 

 base, and above comparatively narrow and obtusely pointed : tragus 

 also broader, shorter, and less attenuated at tip. 



The only other Bat we have yet seen from Ceylon, is a minute 

 species which appears to be extremely common throughout India, and 

 is also met with at Singapore. We believe it to be V. coroman- 

 delicus, F. Cuv., and to be identical with V. irretitus, Cantor 

 {Ann. Mag. N. H. IX, 481), from Chusan ; and V. minutus, 

 Temminck, from the Cape of Good Hope, would seem to approximate, 

 so far as can be judged from the brief description of Prof. Schinz. 

 Size of the Pipistrelle,t or on the average somewhat shorter in the 



* We have since received another and remarkably handsome large species of 

 Nycticejus, with similar colouring of membranes, from the Khasya hills, — N, 

 ornatus, nobis, — a description of which will appear in a subsequent article. 



f On comparison of British specimens of the Pipistrelle with an example in spirit 

 sent by Mr. Hodgson from Nepal with the MS. name V. pallidiventris, we could 



