Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon. Robert Armitage Sterndale
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.
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:—
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, 1½ 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.
This is synonymous with Vespertilio formosus, which see further on, it is the same as the Kerivoula formosa of Gray.
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 papillæ.
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.
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.
HABITAT.—N.W. Himalayas.
DESCRIPTION.—Fur above light reddish or smoke brown beneath dusky white, the base of the hairs dark.
SIZE.—Head and body, 2½ inches; tail, 2 inches; expanse, 15 inches.
Both these appear to be closely allied to the pipistrelle of Europe, and are stated to have been found at Mussoorie and in Kashmir.
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.
HABITAT.—Himalayas.
DESCRIPTION.—Muzzle narrow; skull vaulted; ears as long as head, wings from base of toes; fur dark brown.
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.
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.
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.
HABITAT.—N.W. Himalayas (Nepal, Darjeeling), Khasia hills.
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.
HABITAT.—Khatmandu, Nepal.
DESCRIPTION.—Fur of head and back