| OCR Text |
Show 1875.] MR. G. E. DOBSON ON THE GENUS SCOTOPHILUS. 371 B. Internal basal lobe of ear convex, evenly rounded: front surface of tragus smooth (Scoteinus.) a'. Ears nearly as long as the head; internal basal lobe commencing in a long lobule projecting backwards S. emarginatus, Dobson. b'. Ears much shorter than the head, internal basal lobe commencing in a short lobule. y. Cingulum of the upper incisors with a small cusp posteriorly S. rueppellii, Peters. S. Cingulum of the upper incisors without a posterior cusp S. greyii, Gray. b. Upper incisors separated from the canines by a _short space; premaxillary bones more developed ; nasal opening small (Scotomanesi) e. Cingulum of the upper incisors with a distinct cusp posteriorly S. ornatus, Blyth. This is not intended to represent a complete synopsis of the species of Scotophilus, but to indicate how the genus may be divided into groups, and to serve as a guide to determining the species. Sc. ornatus does not come properly under either of the first two groups; I have therefore placed this species by itself. This very remarkable species, which inhabits the warm valleys among the hills below Darjeeling, the Kasia Hills, and Kakhyan ranges, Yunan, is distinguished from all the other species of Sco" tophilus by the peculiar pied condition of the fur *, in which and in other respects, as in the form of the ear and tragus and shape of the head and muzzle, it approaches the American genus Atalapha. If the skull be compared with that of a full-grown specimen of Sc. temminckii, the following differences may be observed:- In Sc. temminckii the superior angle of the occipital crest forms with the sagittal crest a prominent projection; in Sc. ornatus this projection is small, the sagittal crest is more developed in front, and the postorbital processes are larger. The frontal in Sc. ornatus is grooved in the centre ; in $e. temminckii it forms a plane surface. In Sc. ornatus the premaxillary bones are much more developed and the nasal opening is not half the size of that in Sc. temminckii; the incisors also are placed at the inner side of the premaxillaries and separated from the canines by a space. In Sc. ornatus the bony palate is much broader behind the bast molars, and does not extend so far backwards. In the upper jaw, the teeth (with the exception of the incisors, which are separated from the canines and have an acute short posterior cusp) are very similar in both species : in the lower jaw * The following is a description of the colour of the fur in Sc. ornatus:-- In males, above light chestnut, on the crown of the head a small longitudinal patch of pure white; from the back of the head, for two thirds the length of the spine, a narrow interrupted band of white extends longitudinally; at the base of the ears posteriorly a patch of white ; on either side of the body two white patches, one in front of the head of the humerus, the other behind it: on the under surface a band of white round the neck connects the spots behind each ear, this is succeeded by a band of chestnut-brown, followed by a band of white and succeeded by pale brown, which extends to the root of the tail. In females the fur is much darker throughout, and the white spots and bands of less size and occasionally altogether absent in certain places. 2 4* |
