534 



Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXXVII, 



and tail membranes are of a transparent white, but the ears and face darker 

 than those of E. tenuipinnis. 



This new species was found just to the north of the forest region, at 

 Niangara and Faradje, and is represented by four specimens. One of these 

 was captured as it circled around under the roof of an open native hut, an 

 hour after nightfall. Another was found in the crop of a hawk, Machce- 

 rhamphus anderssoni, which had been taking its evening toll of bats. 



37. Eptesicus faradjius sp. nov. 



Total length about 3.5 inches (90 mm.), wing-spread 10.5 inches (267 

 mm.). The long tail, with the pointed interfemoral membrane reaching 

 to its very tip, may sometimes take up even more than two-fifths of the total 

 length. The silky fur on the dorsal side is uniform in color but the individual 

 variation, which has nothing to do with either age or sex, is rather confusing. 

 The reddish-brown specimens show a strong contrast with those of a very 

 faded or dark brown shade. The ventral side is always lighter, especially 

 on the abdomen. The wing and interfemoral membranes are whitish and 

 translucent, though the latter have often a distinct brownish hue in the 

 darker specimens. 



We often scared these small bats out from the dense clusters of foliage 

 of either low trees or bushes. In Faradje they clung to the brick walls or 

 to the rafters or even to a single grass stalk hanging from the thatch. There 

 were as many as six together and they preferred the more secluded and darker 

 places. When approached during daylight they were always on the alert 

 and moved quickly out of sight, climbing over the brick walls or deeper into 

 the recesses of the thatch. When disturbed in trees they showed even in the 

 brightest sunlight no bewilderment in the selection of another hiding place. 



Like Taphozous mauritianus, they were especially numerous in the 

 house and even in native huts right after the beginning of the dry season, 

 when the grass is habitually set afire all over the country. The trees and 

 bushes are then leafless and these bats naturally find a more suitable shelter 

 in human habitations. 



Early in the evening they start to pursue their minute prey and usually 

 keep only some five feet from the ground, flying back and forth outside of the 

 houses without fear of human beings, their wings whirring distinctly as they 

 pass. They rarely visit lighted rooms. 



They were collected only at Niangara and Faradje and are probably 

 restricted to the bushveldt region north of the tropical rain-forest, especially 

 as we never observed them either near Medje or Avakubi, where we made 

 'extensive collections. 



