Chapter 9

NYCTICEJUS LUTEUS. _The Bengal Yellow Bat_ (_Jerdon's No. 43_).

NYCTICEJUS TEMMINCKII. _The Common Yellow Bat_ (_Jerdon's No. 44_).

Both the above (Nos. 43 and 44) are, according to Dr. Dobson, synonymous with _Scotophilus Temminckii_, which see.

NYCTICEJUS CASTANEUS. _The Chestnut Bat_ (_Jerdon's No. 45_).

This is also a variety of _Scotophilus Temminckii_.

NYCTICEJUS ATRATUS. _The Sombre Bat_ (_Jerdon's No. 46_). (See _ante: Vesperugo atratus_.)

NYCTICEJUS CANUS. _The Hoary Bat_ (_Jerdon's No. 47_). (See _ante: Vesperugo lobatus_.)

NYCTICEJUS ORNATUS. _The Harlequin Bat_ (_Jerdon's No. 48_). (See _ante: Scotophilus ornatus_.)

NO. 98. NYCTICEJUS NIVICOLUS. _The Alpine Bat_ (_Jerdon's No. 49_).

HABITAT.--Sikim.

DESCRIPTION.--"Head and body above uniform light brown with a slight yellowish shade; underneath, from the throat to the vent, dark grey with a brownish tint, lighter on the sides of the throat. Ears long, attenuated to an obtuse point."--_Jerdon_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 3 inches; tail, 2 inches; expanse, 19 inches.

This bat was described by Hodgson ('Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.' 1855), but there is some doubt about it, and it has been classed as a _Lasiurus_ and also with _Scot. ornatus_ and _Vesp. formosa_, but Jerdon thinks it a _distinct_ species. I cannot find any mention of it in Dobson's monograph.

_GENUS HARPIOCEPHALUS_.

This is also the genus _Murina_ of Gray. Dr. Dobson explains his acceptance of the former term in the following way: that he first accepted _Murina_ on the score of priority in a paper showing that _Harpiocephalus_ and _Murina_ must be united in a single genus; but finding afterwards that Gray had founded _Murina_ on a specimen of what he believed to be _Vesp. suillus_ (Temm.), but which was in reality a specimen of a very different species from Darjeeling, belonging to the same section of the genus as _Vespertilio harpia_ (Temm.) the type of his genus _Harpiocephalus_, it remained therefore either to discard both names or to retain _Harpiocephalus_, in which course he was supported by Professor Peters, to whom he mentioned the facts.

Horsfield's genus _Lasiurus_ is included in this one, though Jerdon considers it distinct from _Murina_.

Muzzle elongated, conical; _nostrils prominent, tubular; produced beyond the upper lip_, opening laterally or sublaterally, emarginate between; crown of the head scarcely raised above the face line; ears thin, generally covered with glandular papillae; tragus long, attenuated towards the tip, and inclined outwards; thumb very large, with a large, strongly curved claw; wings around interfemoral membrane very hairy.--_Dobson_.

Dentition: Inc., 2--2/6; can. 1--1/1--1; premolars, 2--2/2--2; molars, 3--3/3--3.

NO. 99. HARPIOCEPHALUS HARPIA. _Lasiurus Pearsonii_ (_Horsfield_) (_Jerdon's No. 50_).

HABITAT.--Darjeeling and Khasia hills.

DESCRIPTION.--"Fur above very soft, silky, and rather long; colour on the head, neck, and shoulders brownish grey, with a ferruginous cast, variegated with whitish hairs; the rest of the body above, with the base of the membrane, the thighs and the interfemoral membrane, have a deep bay or reddish-brown hue, and delicate hairs of the same colour are scattered over the membrane and project from its border; the body underneath is thickly covered with a grey fur, which is paler on the breast and body; the interfemoral membrane marked with regularly parallel transverse lines" (_Horsfield_). Ears ovoid; tragus rather long, nearly straight, acute at the tip (_Jerdon_). Muzzle rather short, obtusely conical; end of nose projecting considerably beyond the lip, consisting of diverging tubular nostrils opening laterally, with a slight emargination between each (_Dobson_).

SIZE.--Head and body, 3 inches; tail, 1-1/2 inch; expanse, 14. Hodgson, who procured it at Darjeeling, writes of it: "Entire legs and caudal membrane clad in fur like the body, which is thick and woolly. Colour bright rusty above; sooty below, the hairs tipped with hoary."

[Figure: Skull of _Harpiocephalus harpia_.]

This bat is, for its size, one of the most powerfully armed with teeth. The skull reminds one of that of a dog or hyaena in miniature; the teeth are very stout, the canines blunt and conical, and the cusps of the molars short and blunt, well coated with enamel; the jaws are correspondingly muscular and adapted to the food of the animal, which consists of hard-shelled beetles, the crushed cases of which have been found in its stomach.

NO. 100. HARPIOCEPHALUS (MURINA) SUILLUS. _The Pig-Bat_ (_Jerdon's No. 51_).

HABITAT.--Darjeeling (_Jerdon_); Malayan archipelago.

DESCRIPTION.--Muzzle narrow, elongated; nostrils very prominent, which, viewed from below, resemble in shape a small hour-glass placed horizontally at the extremity of the muzzle; ears moderate, shorter than the head, rounded at the tips; tragus moderately long, attenuated above and slightly curved outwards; fur light greyish-brown; extremities dark brown; beneath light greyish-brown throughout.--_Dobson_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1-3/4 to 2 inches; tail, 1-1/2 inch; expanse 9 to 10.

NO. 101. HARPIOCEPHALUS AURATUS.

HABITAT.--Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Head and muzzle as in _H. suillus_, but the nostrils are differently shaped; each nostril forms a distinct tube directed sublaterally with a circular aperture marked by a very small notch on the outer and upper margin (_Dobson_). The whole body is thickly clad; the fur on the back is black, with bright golden yellow tips; the back of the fore-arm covered with short golden hair; the hair of the under parts black with silvery tips, whiter on the lower jaw, neck and pubis; the interfemoral membrane is covered with very long hair, which forms a fringe along its free margin extending on the legs and feet, and projecting beyond the toes; underneath short silvery hair.

SIZE.--Head and body 1.4 inch; tail 1.2.

NO. 102. HARPIOCEPHALUS GRISEUS.

HABITAT.--Jeripani, N.W. Himalayas.

DESCRIPTION.--Head and muzzle as in _H. suillus_; fur above dark brown, with yellowish-brown extremities; beneath similar, but with the extreme points of the hairs ashy.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1.4 inch; tail 1 inch.

This bat was found near Mussoorie by Captain Hutton, who writes that it occurs, but sparingly, on the outer southern range of hills at 5500 feet. It skims close to the ground, and somewhat leisurely over the surface of the crops and grass; and one which flew into his room kept low down, passing under chairs and tables, instead of soaring towards the ceiling, as bats generally do.

NO. 103. HARPIOCEPHALUS LEUCOGASTER.

HABITAT.--N.W. Himalayas, Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Head and muzzle as in _H. harpia_; fur long and dense, above brown with grey bases; underneath whitish; sides light brown. It differs from the next species by a small projecting tooth on the inner margin of the ear conch, by the smaller size of the first upper premolar, and by the colour.--_Dobson_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1.9 inch; tail 1.5.

NO. 104. HARPIOCEPHALUS CYCLOTIS.

HABITAT.--Darjeeling, Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Similar to the last, but with round ears; fur bicoloured, the hairs being dark brown at the base, with bright ferruginous tips; below pale brown; the upper surface of the interfemoral membrane and back of the feet covered with hair, which also extends beyond the toes; the first premolar in the upper jaw nearly equal in size to the second, whereas in the last species it is only about three-fourths.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1.7 inch; tail, 1.5.

_GENUS KERIVOULA_.

DESCRIPTION.--Muzzle long and narrow; skull very concave between the nasal bones and the vertex, so that the crown appears considerably vaulted; ears funnel-shaped and semi-transparent; tragus very long, narrow and pointed; wings very wide; tail longer than head and body, wholly contained within the interfemoral membrane.

Dentition: Inc., 2--2/6; can., 1--1/1--1; premolars, 3--3/3--3; molars, 3--3/3--3.

The generic name of this bat is composed of two Singhalese words--_kehel_ or _kela_, the plantain, and _voulha_, which is the Singhalese for bat, the specimen on which Gray founded his genus being the following:--

NO. 105. KERIVOULA PICTA. _The Painted Bat_ (_Jerdon's No. 53_).

HABITAT.--India generally, Burmah and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--"Fur fine, woolly; above yellowish-red or golden rufous, beneath less brilliant and more yellow; wing membranes inky black, with rich orange stripes along the fingers extending in indentations into the membrane."--_Jerdon_.

Ears moderate, laid forwards; the tips reach midway between the eyes and the middle of the muzzle; tragus very long and straight; thumb short; wings to the base of the toes.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1-1/2 inch; tail, 1.6 inch; expanse about 10 inches.

This beautiful little bat is found all over India, but is not common; it is occasionally caught in plantain gardens, as it resorts to the leaves of that tree for shelter during the night, and may sometimes be discovered in the folds of a leaf. As Jerdon remarks, it looks more like a butterfly or a moth when disturbed during the day time. Dr. Dobson pertinently observes that the colours of this bat appear to be the result of the "protective mimicry" which we see so often in insects, the Mantidea and other genera, the colours being adapted to their abiding places. He alludes to Mr. Swinhoe's account ('P. Z. S.,' 1862, p. 357) of an allied species:--"The body of this bat was of an orange yellow, but the wings were painted with orange yellow and black. It was caught suspended head downwards on a cluster of the round fruit of the longan tree. (_Nephelium_ [_Scytalia_] _longanum_) [the _ash phul_ of Bengal]. Now this tree is an evergreen, and all the year through some portion of its foliage is undergoing decay, the particular leaves being in such a stage partially orange and black; this bat can therefore at all seasons suspend from its branches and elude its enemies by its resemblance to the leaf of the tree." This bat was named by Pallas _Vespertilio pictus_. Boddaert in 1785 termed it _Vesp. kerivoula_, and Gray afterwards took the second specific name for that of the genus, leaving the first as it is.

KERIVOULA PALLIDA. (_Jerdon's No. 54._)

This is synonymous with _Vespertilio formosus_, which see further on, it is the same as the _Kerivoula formosa_ of Gray.

NO. 106. KERIVOULA PAPILLOSA. (_Jerdon's No. 55._)

HABITAT.--Java, but said by Jerdon to have been found in Calcutta and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur fine woolly, long, bicoloured; above light shining brown, paler below; the free edge of the interfemoral membrane margined with small papillae.

NO. 107. KERIVOULA HARDWICKII.

HABITAT.--India (Assam--Shillong, Khasia hills).

DESCRIPTION.--Same size as _K. picta_, but ears larger; fur uniformly dark above and below, with shining greyish-brown extremities.

_GENUS VESPERTILIO_.

Muzzle long; ears often larger than the head, oval, apart; tragus long, acute; crown of head vaulted; feet moderate; wing membrane from base of toes; tail, wholly included in interfemoral membrane, less than length of head and body.

Dentition: Inc., 2--2/6; can., 1--1/1--1; premolars, 3--3/3--3; molars, 3--3/3--3.

NO. 108. MYOTIS (VESPERTILIO) MURINUS. (_Jerdon's No. 61._)

HABITAT.--N.W. Himalayas.

[Figure: _Vespertilio murinus_.]

DESCRIPTION.--Fur above light reddish or smoke brown beneath dusky white, the base of the hairs dark.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2-1/2 inches; tail, 2 inches; expanse, 15 inches.

NOS. 109 & 110. MYOTIS THEOBALDI and MYOTIS PARVIPES. (_Jerdon's Nos. 62 & 63._)

Both these appear to be closely allied to the _pipistrelle_ of Europe, and are stated to have been found at Mussoorie and in Kashmir.

NO. 111. VESPERTILIO LONGIPES.

HABITAT.--Kashmir (caves of Bhima Devi, 6000 feet).

DESCRIPTION.--Wings from the ankles; _feet very large_, about one-fourth the length of the head and body; fur black above, underneath black with whitish tips.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1.75 inch; tail, 1.45 inch.

NO. 112. VESPERTILIO MYSTACINUS.

HABITAT.--Himalayas.

DESCRIPTION.--Muzzle narrow; skull vaulted; ears as long as head, wings from base of toes; fur dark brown.

NO. 113. VESPERTILIO MURICOLA.

HABITAT.--Himalayas, Arracan.

DESCRIPTION.--Similar to the above, but may be distinguished by a small lobe behind the heel, by the deep emargination of the upper third of the outer margin of the ear; by the intensely black colour of the fur and membranes, and by its small size.--_Dobson_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1.6 inch; tail, 1.55 inch.

NO. 114. VESPERTILIO MONTIVAGUS.

HABITAT.--Burmah, Hotha, Yunan.

DESCRIPTION.--Head slightly elevated above the face line; muzzle obtuse; ears narrow, tapering, _with_ rounded tips slightly turned outwards; tragus long, narrow, and acutely pointed; feet very small; toes two-thirds the length of the whole foot; tail wholly contained in the membrane; wings from base of toes; fur dark brown above, the tips paler and shining, beneath much darker, almost black, with ashy tips to the hairs; face much covered with hair, which almost conceals the eyes; the tip of the nose alone naked; wing membranes partially covered with fur.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1.8 inch; tail, 1.6 inch.

This bat, of which the above description is taken from Dobson's monograph, was obtained by Dr. J. Anderson during the Yunan Expedition.

NO. 115. VESPERTILIO MURINOIDES.

HABITAT.--N.W. Himalayas (Chamba), 3000 feet.

DESCRIPTION.--General form of the ear triangular, with narrow rounded tips; outer margin concave beneath tips; tragus slender and acutely pointed, with a quadrangular lobe at the base of the outer margin; fur dark brown above with light brown tips; dark brown below, almost black with greyish tips.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2.5 inches; tail 2.

NO. 116. VESPERTILIO FORMOSUS.

HABITAT.--N.W. Himalayas (Nepal, Darjeeling), Khasia hills.

[Figure: _Vespertilio formosus_.]

DESCRIPTION.--Wing membrane broad and variegated with orange and rich dark brown; the portions of the dark-coloured membrane are triangular in form, and occupy the spaces between the second and third and third and fourth fingers; all the remaining portions of the membranes, including interfemoral, are orange, as are also the ears; the orange colour extends in narrow lines along each side of the fingers, and is dispersed over the dark triangular space in dots and streaks.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2 inches; tail, 1.1; expanse 11.

NO. 117. VESPERTILIO NEPALENSIS.

HABITAT.--Khatmandu, Nepal.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur of head and back long and dense, bicoloured; base black, tips brown; underneath the hairs are two-thirds black, with the remaining upper third pure white.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1.65 inch; tail, 1.35.

NO. 118. VESPERTILIO EMARGINATUS. VARIETY.--_Desertorum_.

HABITAT.--Beluchistan.

DESCRIPTION.--The upper third of the outer margin of the ears deeply emarginate; colour of fur light brownish; ears and interfemoral membranes pale yellowish white; membranes dusky white.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2 inches; tail 1.6.

_GENUS MINIOPTERUS_ (_Bonaparte_).

DESCRIPTION.--Crown of head abruptly and very considerably raised above the face line; ears separate, rhomboidal, the outer margin carried forward to the angle of the mouth; tragus like that in _Vesperugo_; first phalanx of the second or longest finger very short; feet long and slender; tail as long as head and body, wholly contained in the membrane.

Dentition: Inc., 2--2/6; can., 1--1/1--1, premolars, 2--2/3--3, molars, 3--3/3--3.

NO. 119. MINIOPTERUS SCHREIBERSII.

HABITAT.--Burmah and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Colour of fur varies, the basal half of the hair always dark greyish black, dark brown or black; the extremities varying from light grey to light reddish-grey, dark reddish-brown and black. For further details see Dobson's monograph.

_GENUS BARBASTELLUS_.

Ears large, connate at the base in front, triangular, emarginate on the outer margin, broad, concealing the back of the head, hairy in the middle; tragus broad at the base, narrow at the tip, and curved outwardly.

[Figure: _Synotus barbastellus_.]

Dentition: Inc., 2--2/6; can., 1--1/1--1; premolars, 2--2/2--2; molars, 3--3/3--3.

NO. 120. BARBASTELLUS COMMUNIS. (_Jerdon's No. 65._)

HABITAT.--Himalayas, Nepal and Mussoorie.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur above blackish brown; the hairs fulvous at the tips; abdomen greyish brown; hairs fine silky.

SIZE.--Head and body, 2 inches; tail, 1-2/12; expanse; 10-1/2.--_Jerdon_.

This is the same as the English Barbastelle, and it appears in Dobson's monograph as _Synotus Darjeelinensis_.

NO. 121. NYCTOPHILUS GEOFFROYI. (_Jerdon's No. 66._)

HABITAT.--Mussoorie.

Jerdon here goes back to the nose-leafed bats. I can find no trace of it in Dobson's monograph, which is so exhaustive as far as Asiatic species are concerned.

DESCRIPTION.--Over the eyes, at the hind corner, a tuft of black hair; fur dark brown, above throat and flank brownish-white; below black with white tips. A simple transverse nose-leaf; ears large, ovoid, united at base as in _Plecotus_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 1-3/4 to 2 inches; tail, 1-5/12; expanse, 9-3/4.

* * * * *

We have now concluded our notice of Indian bats but yet much is to be discovered concerning them. Very little is known of the habits of these small nocturnal animals, only a few of the most familiar large ones are such as one can discourse upon in a popular way; the lives and habits of the rest are a blank to us. We see them flit about rapidly in the dusky evening, and capture one here and there, but, after a bare description, in most cases very uninteresting to all save those who are "bat fanciers," what can be said about them? Many of them have been written about for a century, yet how little knowledge has been gained! It has been no small labour to collate all the foregoing species, and to compare them with various works; it would have been a most difficult task but for the assistance I have received from Dr. Dobson's book, which every naturalist should possess if he desires to have a thorough record of all the Indian Chiroptera.

INSECTIVORA.

These are mostly small animals of, with few exceptions, nocturnal habits.

Their chief characteristic lies in their pointed dentition, which enable them to pierce and crush the hard-shelled insects on which they feed. The skull is elongated, the bones of the face and jaw especially, and those of the latter are comparatively weak. Before we come to the teeth we may notice some other peculiarities of this order.

The limbs are short, feet five-toed and plantigrade, with the entire sole placed on the ground in running, and these animals are all possessed of clavicles which in the next order are but rudimentary; in this respect they legitimately follow the Bats. The mammae are placed under the abdomen, and are more than two. None of them (except _Tupaia_) have a caecum (this genus has been most exhaustively described in all its osteological details by Dr. J. Anderson: see his 'Anatomical and Zoological Researches'); the snout is usually prolonged and mobile. The dentition is eccentric, and not always easy to determine; some have long incisors in front, followed by other incisors along the sides of their narrow jaws and canines, all shorter than the molars; others have large separated canines, between which are placed small incisors. In Blyth's additions to Cuvier he states that "in this group we are led to identify the canine tooth as simply the first of the false molars, which in some has two fangs, and, as in the Lemurs, to perceive that the second in the lower jaw is in some more analogous in size and character to an ordinary canine than that which follows the incisors. The incisor teeth are never more than six in number, which is the maximum throughout _placental_ mammalia (as opposed by _marsupial_), and in several instances one or two pairs are deficient. (It should be remarked that a single tooth with two fangs is often represented by two separate teeth, each with one fang.) The canines, with the succeeding false molars, are extremely variable, but there are ordinarily three tuberculated molars posterior to the representative of the carnivorous or cutting grinder of the true _Carnivora_." All the molar teeth are studded with sharp points or cusps; the deciduous teeth are developed and disappear before birth. This order is divided into four families, viz., _Talpidae_ or Moles, _Sorecidae_ or Shrews, _Erinaceidae_ or Hedgehogs, and the _Tupaiadae_, Banxrings or Tree-shrews. Of all these well-defined types are to be found in India, but America and Africa possess various genera which we have not, such as the Condylures (_Condylura_, Illiger), the Shrew-moles (_Scalops_, Cuvier), belonging to _Talpidae_; the Solendons, Desmans, and Chrysochlores to _Sorecidae_; the Sokinahs, Tenrecs and Gymnures to _Erinaceidae_; and the Macroscelles or Elephant-mice of the Cape Colony form another group more allied to _Tupaia_ than the rest. This last family is the most interesting. Anatomically belonging to this order, they externally resemble the squirrels so closely as to have been frequently mistaken for them. The grovelling Mole and creeping Shrew are as unlike the sprightly Tupaia, as it springs from branch to branch, whisking its long bushy tail, as it is possible to conceive. I intend further on to give an illustration of this little animal. The first we have on record concerning it is in the papers relating to Captain Cook's third voyage, which are now in the British Museum, where the animal is described and figured as _Sciurus dissimilis_; it was obtained at Pulo Condore, an island 100 miles from Saigon, in 1780.

Sir T. Stamford Raffles was the next to describe it, which he did under the generic name _Tupaia_--_tupai_ being a Malayan word applied to various squirrel-like small animals--but he was somewhat forestalled in the publication of his papers by MM. Diard and Duvaucel. Dr. Anderson relates how Sir T. Raffles engaged the services of these two naturalists to assist him in his researches, on the understanding that the whole of the observations and collections were to be the property of the East India Company; but ultimately on this point there arose a disagreement between them, and the paper that was first read before the Asiatic Society of Bengal on the 10th of March, 1820, was drawn up by MM. Diard and Duvaucel, though forwarded by Sir T. Raffles, whose own paper on the subject was not read before the Linnean Society until the 5th of December of that year, nor published till 1821; therefore to the others belongs the credit of first bringing this curious group to notice.