102 TlMEHRI. 
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The two next forms to be described are referable to 
the genus Artibeus^ characterised by having the head 
short and almost rounded, with a thick and blunt muzzle, 
and the interfemoral membrane concave behind, and of 
little extent, no tail being present. The larger species, 
A. planirostris, has a large and thick, fleshy nose-leaf, 
the sides of the process being rounded and not produced 
upwards into lobes. This very common bat has a spread 
of wings of about 16-20 inches in width and is distributed 
all over the coast area. On the estates and in the 
towns, they are to be seen in groups of various sizes, 
males and females intermingled and fairly proportion- 
ately matched, hanging under the eaves or under the 
edges of the gables of the houses. During the fruiting 
season, when the sapodillas, star-apples, mangoes, and 
such like fruits are ready to be gathered, numbers of 
these large bats are to be observed at sunset, flitting in 
and out among the leaves and branches, picking out and 
feeding on the ripest fruits to be found. They dart up 
and down repeatedly at the same fruit, remaining momen- 
tarily almost stationary while their teeth are applied, 
and with the force of their flight they cause either the 
tearing away of part of the soft pulp, or the whole fruit, 
according to its degree of ripeness. The long and 
sharp canine teeth afford splendid grasping organs ; 
while the strength of the creature is able to tear away 
even large fruits from their stems. The species of this 
genus have a very peculiar facies owing to the roundness 
and bluntness of the snout ; while the much thickened 
wart-like or tubercular processes on the lips render 
them still more strange looking. The females of this 
species, even in a very large series of individuals, often 
