274 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
THE ROUSSETTE * 
The so-called Mascarene Islands, Mauritius and Bourbon, those specks in the great Indian ocean 
which, when first discovered, harboured so many curious birds, also furnished one of the earliest 
known species of Fruit Bats, the lloussette (Pteropus vulgaris , see next page), which was described 
by Gesner and Clusius. This species, which is said to occur also in Madagascar, and even on the 
mainland of Africa, is about eight and a half inches long, and three feet in expanse of wing. The 
muzzle, forehead, and cheeks are rusty red ; the crown of the head, the nape, and the sides and front 
of the neck yellowish-red ; and two longitudinal bands of the same colour run parallel to each other 
down the middle of the back, separated by a strip of blackish chestnut, which, -with the similarly 
coloured shoulders, forms a sort of cross ; the sides of the back are rusty red, and the lower Surface of 
the body black. It is probably to the generally reddish tinge of its fur that this species owes its 
French name of lloussette, which has been extended in its application to the whole of the Frugivorous 
Bats. 
THE EGYPTIAN FRUIT BAT.f 
The majority of the African Fruit Bats belong to genera which have been separated from the 
old genus Pteropus. Thus we have several species of Oynonycteris ( Xantharpyia and Eleutherura of 
the late Dr. Gray), in which the characters are generally those of Pteropus , but there is a short tail 
more or less enclosed in the interfemoral membrane, and the basal portion of the thumb is joined to 
the index finger by a membrane. To this genus belongs the Egyptian species already referred to 
(< Oynonycteris < egyptiaca ), representations of which occur on Egyptian monuments (see page 269). 
Thus species is about five and a half inches long, with an expanse of wing of eighteen or twenty 
inches ; the tail is rather more than half an inch long, and the basal half of it is enclosed in the 
interfemoral membrane ; the ears are rather long, rounded at the tips, and naked ; the upper surface 
of the body is pale greyish-brown, becoming yellowish on the sides and the hairy part of the arms, 
and the lower surface is whitish. These Bats are found abundantly in Egypt, where they dwell 
amongst the ruins of its ancient edifices, and in the dark chambers of the Pyramids. They also occur 
in Senegambia in Western Africa, and in Syria. 
THE HOTTENTOT FRUIT BAT. X 
An abundant species of South Africa is the Hottentot Fruit Bat (Oynonycteris collar is), speci- 
mens of which may be seen in the Zoological Gardens, where they breed pretty freely. This 
species varies considerably in colour, but usually displays various shades of reddish or greyish- 
brown. The fur is less dense on the nape of the neck, which in consequence generally has a rather 
bare appearance. This Bat occurs at the Cape of Good Hope, in Caffraria, and in Mozambique, 
THE MARITIME FRUIT BAT.§ 
These tailed Fruit Bats are represented in the East Indian region by several species, which gives 
the genus Oynonycteris a geographical range from the Philippine Islands in the north-east to the Cape 
of Good Hope in the south-west. The best-known Indian species (Oynonycteris aniplexicauclata ), is 
nearly allied to the Egyptian form, but smaller, being little more than four inches in length. Its fur is 
reddish-brown, or brownisli-red above, and so short upon the back that this part appears nearly bare. 
The range of this Bat extends from the shores of the Persian Gulf to the Philippine Islands, and it 
appears always to haunt the coasts. As already stated this Bat is supposed by some zoologists to feed 
on mollusca and other marine animals picked up on the seashore. 
* Pteropus vulgaris. 
f Oynonycteris ccgyptiaca. 
X Oynonycteris collaris. 
§ Oynonycteris amplexicandata. 
