THE NEW ZEALAND SHORT-TAILED BAT. 
323 
formation of a distinct genus for it. The present species, the second known Bat of New Zealand, is 
a far more remarkable animal ; in fact, its characters are so singular that it forms not only a distinct 
genus, but a peculiar sub-division of the family to which it belongs. 
The Short-tailed Bat of New Zealand, which appears to be not of very common occurrence there, 
is a small Bat, not exceeding two inches and a half in length of head and 
body ; the body is short and broad ; the muzzle is greatly produced beyond 
the opening of the mouth, and terminates in a sort of projecting snout, which 
carries the nostrils towards the sides of its tip ; the ears are quite separate, 
simple, ovate, and slightly pointed at the tips, and furnished with a long, 
narrow, and pointed tragus ; the wings are rather short and broad, and the 
middle finger consists of four joints, having three true phalanges; the wing- 
membranes extend down to the end of the shank ; a narrow band of the 
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membrane running from the wrist down the arm, and bordering the side short-tailed bat. 
of the body and the leg, the antebrachial or shoulder membrane and the basal (Fr°m the^ Proc|edmgs oj the 
part of the interfemoral membrane are thick and leathery, and marked with 
numerous deep wrinkles on the upper surface. The tail is short, and only a very small portion of it 
is enclosed in the interfemoral membrane. The dentition is exceedingly peculiar. There are two 
upper incisors, which are nearly of the same shape as the canines ; the lower jaw also has two incisors, 
but these are small, tliree-lobed at the tip, and placed in front of the canines, which are of large size, 
and nearly in contact at the base. There are two premolars and three true molars on 
each side in both jaws. 
The fur is short, crisp, and thick, and extends forward on the head towards the nose, 
where it is bounded in front by a frill of stiff, upright hairs. On the upper parts of the 
body the fur is dusky at the base and tipped with a shining greyish-brown, with a slight 
olive tinge. On the lower siuface the hairs are brown at the base, with greyish-brown 
tips. The membranes are dark-brown, with the wrinkled, leathery portion paler, and of 
a yellowish tinge. Of the habits of this species nothing has been recorded. 
In many respects the New Zealand Short-tailed Bat is exceedingly interesting to the 
zoologist. In its structure it presents striking resemblances to species belonging to several 
groups, whilst its own personal peculiarities are very remarkable. These are noticed by 
Mr. Dobson, from whose valuable writings we have so often had occasion to quote, in 
a short paper read before the Zoological Society in 1876. He finds that the peculiar leathery and 
wrinkled portions of the membranes are so arranged that when the wings are folded — which they are 
in a very complicated manner, and so as to pack away into the smallest possible space — each wing is 
“ tucked in beneath the thickened portion of the wing-membrane margining the fore-arm and side 
of the body, which sheathes and completely 
conceals the whole wing. The posterior half 
of the interfemoral membrane, from the point 
where the tail periorates it, is rolled upwards 
and forwards beneath the leathery anterior 
half.” In this way the more membranous 
parts of the wings are protected, as Mr, Dob- 
son remarks, precisely in the same way that 
the delicate wings of the Beetles and Bugs 
are sheltered in repose beneath the hardened 
elytra. “With the wings and interfemoral 
membranes thus encased,” he adds, “ this 
species is the most quadrupedal of Bats and 
the structure of the limbs indicates that all 
these arrangements really tend to adapt this animal for progression on all-fours. The thumb is long, 
and armed with a large, sharp claw, which is remarkable among Bats for having a small sharp tooth 
near the base, in its concave side, a structure which, from the analogy of a species of Chameleon in 
which the same thing occurs, is regarded by Mr. Dobson as greatly increasing the clinging power of 
THUMB AND FOOT OF NEW ZEALAND SHORT-TAILED BAT. 
(From the Proceedings of the Zoological Society.) 
TEETH OF NEW 
ZKALAND 
SHORT-TAILED 
BAT. 
(From the Proc. 
Zool. Soc .) 
