368 



Mr. McClelland's Catalogue 



Order II. CHEIROPTERA. 



Genus Pteropus, Briss., &c. 



3. Pteropus Assamensis. Caplte antice toto ex salurato rafes- 

 cente fusco, jwstice zona pallidiore in aureum ver genie cincto ; 

 collo omni, nucha, inter scap alio, pectore abdomineque e xeram- 

 pclino aureis, plagd laterali saturatiore ; vellere in his elongato 

 sublanuginoso ; notczo e saturato fusco-nigricante pilis albis com- 

 misto ; patagio nigro ; auriculis elongatis acuminatis ; axillis 

 humerisque lanugine J'usco vestitis. 



The face and the whole anterior part of the head are deep chest- 

 nut-brown, with a slight tendency to tawny ; the back part of the 

 head is surrounded by a belt of a lighter tint, inclining to orange, 

 which also includes the throat. Around the entire neck, to the 

 origin of the membrane, is a broad collar of rusty-yellow, inclining 

 to orange, diversified with deeper rufous shades ; the same colour, 

 with its variation of tints, embraces the interscapulium, and ex- 

 tends to the breast and anterior part of the abdomen ; the lower por- 

 tion of the abdomen and the vent are rufous- brown. The back is 

 deep blackish-brown, with a scanty admixture of white hairs ; the 

 fur, though slightly appressed, is more soft and silky than in the 

 other species belonging to this section of Pteropus. The membrane 

 is blackish. The flanks, armpits, and the bones of the shoulders and 

 arms, are covered with a soft, silky, lengthened down, of a rufous- 

 brown colour. The ears are long and pointed. The entire length 

 is eight inches. 



This species, although it resembles the PL edulis and Edwardsii 

 (or medius) in habit, distribution of tint, and in the form of the ears, 

 is nevertheless distinguished from them by the character of the fur 

 on the neck, breast, and adjoining parts. This is not short and rigid, 

 as in the species mentioned, but long, soft, and silky, furnished at 

 the base with a close down, of a dark colour : in this particular it 

 approaches to the second section of this genus, which is characterized 

 by a lengthened, silky, frizzled fur, and of which the Pteropus dasy- 

 ?nallus, Temra.j is the type. The toes and claws are proportion ably 

 large. 



There are in Mr. McClelland's collection two specimens of this 

 species, for which he has proposed the specific name of Assamensis : 

 this, notwithstanding the objection raised to local names, has been 

 retained, in order to direct naturalists in India to the country where 

 it was discovered, and thus to determine, by future search, its rank 

 as a distinct species, and also the existence of other species of both 

 groups, typified by Pteropus edulis and Pteropus dasijmallus. 



Genus Vespertilio, Auct. 



4. Vespertilio ? 



A single specimen of Vespertilio has been received, which is not 

 sufficiently perfect to determine its true character. 



