1921 .] 
Natural-history Notes. 
141 
interesting animal. Considerable difficulty was experienced in extending 
the membranes, and it should be noticed that, as a result, the inter-femoral 
membrane, which is capable of extension well 
beyond the tail, in the photographs remains 
folded. The long and narrow tragus of the 
ear, the free tail, the tuberculate snout, sharp 
claws, and other characteristic features are 
well exhibited. 
The sketch (fig. 2) indicates a feature which 
renders this bat unique—namely, the smooth 
surface of the hairs which compose its fur. 
Bats as an order are characterized by the 
striking prominence of the hair-scales, which 
in this species are but faintly indicated, at 
least in the long hairs. 
O 
Occurrence of a Rare Tineoid Moth (Titanomis sisyrota Meyr„), by 
H. Hamilton, Dominion Museum. 
Of interest to entomologists generally is the recent capture of a fine 
specimen of Titanomis sisyrota Meyr. Considering the rarity and unique 
characters of this giant tineoid moth a few historical notes will not be out 
of place. Mr. G-. Y. Hudson, of Karori, Wellington, has, with his usual 
kindness, put me in possession of the following notes :— 
(1.) The first capture was made by the late R. Helms in 1874—pre¬ 
sumably on the West Coast—but the moth was not then described. 
(2.) Mr. Hudson has in his collection a specimen taken in the Nelson 
District in the “ seventies,” but no other particulars are available. 
(3.) In the Buller collection of Lepidoptera in the Dominion Museum 
there is a damaged specimen, but with no accompanying record. It is 
probable, however, that this specimen was from the Nelson District. 
(4.) In February, 1882, a Miss Collins was fortunate enough to secure 
another example in the drawing-room of a residence at Wakapuaka, Nelson. 
This specimen was secured bv Mr. Hudson, who sent it to Mr. Stainton, 
in England, for description. Eventually, however, Mr. Meyrick described 
the moth in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute for 1887, and thus 
the type was created 
(5.) The next occurrence was in March, 1886. when Mr. Clement W. Lee 
found a specimen at Otaki. This is now in Mr. Hudson’s collection. 
(6.) Mr. Hudson has further record of a broken dead specimen being 
tak<m at Haldane, in Southland, in 1900. 
After an interval of at least twenty years, during which it was generally 
thought that this moth must be extinct, it is gratifying to record a reap¬ 
pearance. During a collecting trip to Rangataua, on the Main Trunk line, 
in January of this year, my wife and I were enjoying the hospitality of 
Mr. and Mrs. Larkin at their residence. The night being warm the drawing¬ 
room windows were open, and consequently many Prinoplus reticularis beetles 
were annoying the ladies. Mrs. Hamilton struck down what she thought to 
be a beetle, but, seeing that the visitor was a moth, promptly acted on the 
collector’s instinct and secured it in a match-box. Thus was a fine female 
specimen of Titanomis sisyrota secured under peculiar circumstances. 
Rangataua is situated between the boundaries of the beech forests that 
fringe Mount Ruapehu and the outlying rimu-kahikatea-maire belt. It 
would be hard, therefore, to localize this moth to any definite plant- 
association, but the occurrence of beech forests in all localities where it 
has been found is significant. 
Strangely enough, all recorded specimens have been females, and so 
entomologists should strive to secure the unknown male. 
Fig. 2.—A, short hair (fur) ; 
B, long hair. Both highly 
magnified. 
