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Show 1905.] OF THE GENUS RHINOLOPHUS. 99 (6) Light phase: one ad. ; Darjeeling ; teeth slightly worn ; skin : Above inclining to " clay" ; a strongly marked, deep brown liorse-shoe patch ; base of hairs and fur of under side almost " cream-buff." (2) Specimens from Ceylon and S. India.-(a) Dark phase: three adult individuals ; Ceylon; teeth rather si ightly worn; skins:-Upper side a shade of brown, darker and duller than " mars-brown " ; horse-shoe patch more or less effaced; base of hairs " drab," with a tinge of " ecru-drab" ; under side " wood-brown " or light " drab."-This is Kelaart's Rh. cinerascens. A skin (ad., January, teeth unworn) from Sirzi, Kanara, comes extremely near to the last-mentioned specimen, being only a little darker. A spirit-specimen from Nilghiri seems to be of very much the same colour. (b) Intermediate stage : d a d .; January; Sirzi, Kanara; teeth unworn. Upper side between " russet " and " mars-brown " ; base of hairs " ecru-drab " ; under side almost " clay."-This is Kelaart's Rh. rammanika. (c) Red phase : one ad.; Ceylon ; teeth worn ; skin :-Above light " hazel" with a tinge of " orange-rufous" ; horse-shoe patch almost obliterated ; base of hairs and under side of body light " orange-rufous."-This is Kelaart's Rh. rubidus. A skin ( 3 ad., February, teeth unworn) from Jellapur, Kanara, represents the extreme of light colour : upper side next to " tawny - ochraceous " ; base of hairs and fur of under side almost " orange-ocliraceous." Conclusions :-The dark phase in specimens from the Himalayas (Nepal, Darjeeling) is of a richer brown, more tinged with russet, than in specimens from Ceylon and S. India (Kanara, Nilghiri). The light phase, in specimens from the Himalayas, seems to be more inclining to " clay " ; in specimens from Ceylon and S. India more " hazel " or " tawny-ochraceous." I do not think the series examined affords evidence conclusive enough to justify the separation of a Himalayan " race " and a southern (Ceylonese and S. Indian) " race." In all the other characters (external, cranial, dental; variation in general size) there is no appreciable difference. If they were to be separated subspecifically, the southern form would have to stand as " Rh. rouxi rubidus Kelaart," the Himalayan as " Rh. rouxi typicnsT Measurements. On p. 100. Distribution. Himalayas (Darjeeling, Nepal, Masuri). S. India (Nilghiri, Kanara) and Ceylon. Remarks. Of the two forms here recognised, Rh. rouxi sinicus and Rh. rouxi typicus, the former, as coming nearest to Rh. borneensis, is no doubt the more primitive. The nma»-type, therefore, has spread from an eastern point of the continent westwards, through the Himalayas, down the Indian Peninsula, to Ceylon. |
