30. BRACHYPHYLLA. 541 developed ; tail none; caleaneum very short or wanting; wingmembrane extending to the distal extremity of the tibia; feet quite free.
Upper middle incisors triangular ; molars very broad and hollowcrowned ; the last molar in both jaws well developed. This genus resembles Phyllostoma in the form of the head externaily, and in the comparative absence of conical papille fringing the lips internally, but agrees with other genera of Stenodermata in the peculiar shape of the molar teeth and in the absence of a tail. The upper middle incisors in B. cavernarum are very similar in shape to those of Desmodus rufus, though much smaller, and differ in shape from those of every other species of the group; and the form of the nose-leaf, and of the lower lip in front, as well as the structure of the stomach (to some extent) also appear to connect it with the Desmodontes (see p. 545).
Dentition. Ine. Cc.
1. Brachyphylla cavernarum.
Brachyphylla cavernarum, Gray, P. Z. 8S. 1833, p. 123; Ann. Nat. Hist. iv. p. 2, pl. i. fig. 1 (1839).
Stenoderma cavernarum, Blainville, Ostéographie, pl. vii. (skull) ; Gervais, Expéd. du Comte de Castelnau, Zoologie, p. 33 (1855). Head very slightly raised above the face-line; muzzle conical, rather narrow in front, the distance between the eyes exactly equal to the distance of the eye from the end of the muzzle; ears shorter than the head, the ear-conch and tragus very similar in shape to those of Phyllostoma hastatum, but the upper half of the outer margin of the tragus has two additional small tooth-like projections ; nose-leaf small, nearly circular, the front margin bound down to the muzzle, the sides and upper margin free, the latter slightly bent forwards and emarginate in the middle; behind the nose-leaf and on each side is a deep groove bounded by a narrow naked glandular elevation ; lower lip with a V-shaped groove in front bounded by a naked elevation on either side, which is fringed externally by five small warts (Plate XXX. figs. 5, 5a).
Thumb well developed, slightly shorter than the foot ; first phalanx of the middle finger one third the length of the metacarpal bone; wings from the distal extremity of the tibia ; interfemoral membrane extending as far backwards in the centre as a line corresponding to the commencement of the distal third of the tibia, and laterally as far as the sides of the feet; feet large and strong; wing-membrane between the humerus and femur, with numerous small raised papille arranged in close parallel lines.
Above reddish brown, the base of the hairs paler ; beneath much paler. The fur of the body scarcely extends upon the membranes, and the forearms are naked ; the interfemoral has a few very fine hairs, which also extend along the legs to the backs of the feet. The face is well covered, and long hairs surround the eyes.
542 PHYLLOSTOMID.
Upper middle incisors moderately large, unicuspidate, triangular ; outer incisors very small, flat-crowned (Plate XXX. fig. 56); lower incisors equal, close together, their longest diameter at right angles to the direction of the jaws, their cutting-edges unnotched ; upper canine with a prominent posterior basal projection ; first upper premolar very small, but slightly larger than one of the outer upper incisors, the second equals three fourths the canine; molars very broad, with concave crowns and prominent notched outer and inner cutting-edges ; the central molars largest, the last upper and lower molars but slightly smaller than the first.
The cesophagus is very narrow, and enters the stomach close to the pyloric extremity; the cardiac portion of the stomach is expanded upwards and to the left side; the pyloric muscular constriction is not well defined; the intestine measures about 20 inches in length.
Length, head and body 3'3, head 1'"3, ear 0'"8 x 0'"5, tragus 0':35, nose-leaf 0:2 x 0'°25, forearm 2'"5, thumb 0':65; third finger—metacarp. 2""1, 1st ph. 0'°65, 2nd ph. 0"-9, 3rd ph. 0'°7 ; fourth finger—metacarp. 1'"95, Ist ph. 0'"6, 2nd ph. 0-85; fifth finger—metacarp. 2'"1, Ist ph. 0'-55, 2nd ph. 0'°6; tibia 1”, foot 0"°75.
Hab. West Indies (Cuba ; St. Vincent’s).
a. & ad., al. (type). Cuba. W.S. MacLeay, Esq. [P.] b. fo ad., al. St. Vincent's.
c. 2 ad., al. West Indies.
31. CENTURIO.
Centurio, Gray, Annals & Mag. Nat. Hist. x. p. 259 (1842). Muzzle even shorter and broader than in Ametrida, the crown of the head much raised above the face-line ; face naked; no distinct nose-leaf, but the nostrils open in a concavity at the extremity of the muzzle, bounded by raised cutaneous edges ; upper lip divided in the centre, the reflected margins continuous above with the sides of the concavity, in which the nostrils open; ear-conch deeply divided internally ; under surface of the lower jaw and throat with transverse cutaneous bands.
Denitition. Inc. 5, c. =, pm. — 1m. > Teeth as in Ametrida, the last upper molar but slightly smaller than the first.
According to the form of the skull and teeth, this genus is most closely related to Ametrida and Stenoderma, and the white shoulderspots further indicate its affinity to these genera. The absence, however, of a distinct nose-leaf, the very peculiar form of the face, the presence of gular bands and pouches, and the structure of the wing-membrane, render the genus so distinct from all others, that it is probably more properly placed at the end of the group.
31. cENTURIO. 543 1. Centurio senex.
Centurio senex, Gray, Ann. § Mag. Nat. Hist. x. p. 259 (1842) ; Fevege of the ‘ Sulphur, Mammaha, pp. 26, 27, pl. viii. figs. 1, la (1844).
ome flavogularis, Lichtenstein et Peters, MB. Akad. Berl, 1854, p. 835.
Centurio mexicanus, De Saussure, Rev. et Mag. Zool. 1860, p. 381. ? Centurio (Trichocorytes) m‘murtrii, Allen, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sei. Philad, 1861, p. 360*.
Muzzle extremely short, so short that the eyes are almost at the anterior extremity of the head, and very broad; the distance between the eyes is nearly equal to half the length of the head, and the opening of the mouth is altogether anterior; the lower jaw projects in front beyond the upper; on the face the naked skin is stretched tightly round the projecting eyes ; the upper lip is divided in front, and the reflected edges are continuous above on either side with the elevated margins of a depression in which the nostrils open, and are separated by a flat, straight-sided, naked elevation ; above this and between the eyes are two pits arranged transversely, with raised, thickened, and sharply cut margins, higher behind and internally, where they form the antero-lateral boundaries of a central deeper cell, behind which the forehead has a flattened, posteriorly rounded elevation in the centre. (These ridges and processes will be better understood by reference to Plate XXX. fig. 6.) Ears shorter than the head; inner side of the ear-conch divided near the middle by a deep acutely angular notch, which cuts off as an oblong lobe half the inner side of the conch; outer side straight above, slightly convex lower down, emarginate opposite the tragus, terminating in a thickened triangular antitragus with a narrow cartilaginous process; tragus small, with a straight inner and a convex toothed outer margin. Under surface of the lower jaw and neck banded by three narrow folds of integument extending round from the bases of the ears; the first commences on each side at the anterior margin of the antitragus and passes down near the angle of the mouth, forming in its middle third a wide and flattened band, having its posterior margin sinuate and divided into three projections; the second band commences behind the first, but is less distinct at its origin, and in the centre beneath forms a small round cell; the third band is close behind this one, and has a small wart on each side bounding its middle third t.
* T have not yet had an opportunity of examining the single specimen of C. m‘murtrii which is preserved in the collection of the Smithsonian Institute at Washington. It was sent from Mirador in Mexico along with specimens of Centurio senex, and I have little doubt that it represents the male of this species, of which females alone appear to have been hitherto obtained. (See footnote below.) :
+ Such are the characters of the throat-bands in the adult female; they represent, I believe, but the rudimentary condition of certain structures occupying the same position in the male, of which probably the nearest representatives are found in the great gular and thoracic pouch and glandular organs of
544 PHYLLOSTOMID2.
Thumb longer than the foot. Wings as in Stenoderma, but the membrane between the fourth and fifth fingers is very curiously marked by narrow transverse parallel bands of a dark colour, of which about twenty-five may be counted; also beyond the fifth finger, for a distance of about half an inch inwards, similarly directed, but double, bands traverse the wing-membrane.
Wings extending to the metatarsus ; calcaneum rather more than half the length of the foot; interfemoral membrane well developed, angularly but not deeply emarginate behind, the emargination extending slightly above the middle of the tibie.
Fur yellowish brown, the extremities of the hairs greyish; a conspicuous white spot on each shoulder at the origin of the antebrachial membrane; wing-membrane between the humerus and femur, and the interfemoral above, thinly clothed with soft fur. Upper middle incisors with a broad base and a very short cusp, scarcely exceeding in vertical extent the outer incisors, which have oblique cusps directed inwards ; first upper premolar short, triangular ; the second premolar nearly equals the canine, and is in a plane but slightly posterior to it; upper molars very broad, the conjoined antero-posterior diameter scarcely equal to the transverse diameter of the first molar, the second molar but slightly smaller than the first ; lower incisors extremely small, grooved ; first lower premolar about half the size of the second, and three fourths its vertical extent, with a straight triangular cusp; second lower molar about half the size of the first molar, triangular in cross section at its base.
Length (of the type, an adult 9), head and body 3”, head 1”, ear 0:65, tragus 0-3, forearm 2'-1, thumb 0'-5; third finger— metacarp. 1-5, Ist ph. 0'°7, 2nd ph. 0’°9, 3rd ph. 0'-6; fourth finger—metacarp. 1'-35, 1st ph. 0'"55, 2nd ph. 0'-55; fifth finger —metacarp. 1"-4, 1st ph. 0-6, 2nd ph. 0°55; tibia 0-65, calcaneum 0:25, foot 0'°4.
Hab. Mexico; Cuba.
This most remarkable form stands alone among the species of Chiroptera, and, indeed, in its peculiar and grotesque physiognomy is unrivalled among known mammals. While resembling many of the species of the group to which it belongs very closely in the form of the teeth, in the general shape of the skull, in the warts of the lower lip, in the colour and peculiar markings of the fur, and in the form of the extremities, it differs quite as remarkably in the presence of the peculiar characters described above. If, as I believe, Centurio m‘murtri be identical with this species, we have added to the other most remarkable peculiarities in struc- Cheiromeles torquatus, a species otherwise very widely removed. In Centurio mmurtrii, Allen (which appears to me to be evidently the male of this species), the central neck-band is similarly marked in the centre by a circular depression, but is so very large as to cover the face like a mask when drawn upwards; and there are two other additional bands (probably reduplications of the integument in the neighbourhood of the primary bands caused by their great development), making five bands in all.
DESMODONTES. 545 ture the presence of secondary sexual characters scarcely less extraordinary. In the specimen preserved in the collection of the Smithsonian Institute the central gular band is (according to Dr. Allen) clothed with soft fur, and so large as to cover the face like a mask when the head is depressed. It is probable that, as in Cheiromeles torquatus, this is the receptacle of the odoriferous secae of glands placed in the centre of the inferior surface of the neck.
a, 9 ad., al. (type). Sir E. Belcher [C.].
Group 4. DESMODONTES.
Muzzle short and conical; nose-leaf distinct, the nostrils opening on the surface of the horizontal leaf; interfemoral membrane very short; tail none.
Dentition. Inc. 5, c. — pm. — m. = or .
Upper incisors very large, canine-like, trenchant, occupying the whole space between the canines; premolars very narrow, with sharp-edged longitudinal crowns ; molars rudimentary or none. (Esophagus very narrow; the cardiac extremity of the stomach greatly elongated, forming a long narrow cecum*. Range. The Neotropical Region (except the Antillean Subregion). The Bats belonging to this group are truly sanguivorous in their habits+, and the nature of their food sufficiently accounts for the remarkable and great divergence in the character of the dentition, and in the form of the alimentary canal, from those of all other species of the Order which they exhibit. So great is the divergence in these respects, that Prof. Huxley was led to form a distinct suborder (Hematophilina) for their reception, at the same time, however, recognising the importance of Prof. Peters’s reasons for classing them with the Phyllostomide, the latter having pointed out that “the peculiarities of the Desmodontes are foreshadowed by the Stenodermata, the true molar teeth of which are distinguished by having an external cutting or notched margin, and usually acute cusps on the middle of the masticating surface; while they never have the V-shaped cusps of their ailies, and are said to live exclusively on fruits. In several of these genera the total number of molar and premolar teeth does not exceed four on each side, above and below— a character which is also to be regarded as an approximation towards the extreme reduction observed in Desmodus” t.
Not only do I quite agree with Prof. Peters in placing these genera in the family Phyllostomide, but I have, in my classification of the genera of Chiroptera, even considered them as forming only a group of the subfamily Phyllostomine, so closely, in my opinion, do they approach the Stenodermata. Remembering the great varia~ * See description of alimentary canal of Desmodus rufus at p. 548. + See notes on the habits of Desmodus rufus, p, 549. + P.Z. 8. 1865, p. 389. ; aN
546 PHYLLOSTOMID&.
bility in the form of the skull and teeth in this family (such, for instance, as exists between such closely allied genera as Artibeus and Stenoderma, or between genera of connected groups, as Cheronycteris and Phyllostoma), I am unable to consider the peculiar dentition and form of the alimentary canal, which are specially adapted to the food of the animal, sufficient reason for constituting a distinct subfamily ; while their direct relationship to the Phyllostomine is so well shown in all other respects, in the position of the nostrils and form of the nose-leaf, in the shape of the ear and tragus, in the structure of the wings, and even in the greatly modified dentition. Brachyphylla appears to me to be most closely related of all known genera of Phyllostomide to this group. The nose-leaf is almost quite similar to that of Diphylla, the divided lower lip is like that of Desmodus, while it agrees with both in the form of the muzzle and of the ear-conch and tragus, and very closely in the relative lengths of the bones of the fingers; the middle upper incisors, if sufficiently increased in size, would be quite similar to those so characteristic of this group; and even the structure of the alimentary canal, so very peculiar in Desmodus, is foreshadowed in the narrow cesophagus, short pyloric and expanded cardiaé extremity of the stomach in Brachyphylla.
Synopsis of the Genera.
I. Caleaneum none; interfemoral membrane developed in the middle; true molars none, lower incisors small, in pairs, separated by a BPACOrereAreepsrasoeeynervevasesapterscunlnneonviare32.Desmonvs,p.546. II. Calcaneum very short ; interfemoral membrane not developed in the middle; molars ca rudimentary ; lower incisors very broad, forming a row between the canines ............ 33. DripHyLua, p. 560. 32. DESMODUS.
Desmodus, Wied, Beitr. zu Naturgesch. Brasil. ii. p. 231 (1826) ; Wagner, Suppl. Sehreb. Sdugeth. i. p. 779 (1844) ; Coan Expéd. du Comte de Castelnau, Zoologie, p. 31 (1855).
Edostoma, D’Orbigny, Voy. dans ? Amérig. Mérid. iv. p. 11. Muzzle short and conical; nostrils opening by oblique apertures on the surface of a small nose-leaf, which is bounded behind by glandular elevations; lower lip and chin with a deep V-shaped groove in front; ears separate; interfemoral membrane short, developed in the middle, but not extending to the heels; no calcaneum or tail.
Dentition. Inc. > eo a pm. 5— a m. 5 Lower incisors in aes separated by a space in front.
32. DESMODUS. 547 1. Desmodus rufus.
Desmodus rufus, Wied, Beitr. zur Naturgesch. Brasil. p. 233 (1826) ; Blainwille, Ostéographie, pl. vii. (skull), pl. xiii. (teeth); Wagner, Suppl. Schreb. Stiugeth. v. p. 614 (1855); Gervais, Expéd. du Comte de Castelnau, Zoologie, p. 31, pl. viii. fig. 6, and pl. ix. fig. 1 (1855) ; Huxley, P. Z. 8. 1865, pp. 386-890 (woodcut of alimentary canal). “eee cinerea, D'Orbigny, Voy. de Amérique Mérid. iv. p. 11, pl. viii.
Desmodus d’orbignyi, Waterhouse, Voy. of the ‘ Beagle,’ Mamm. p. 1, Pea xxxy. fig. 1 (skull); Gay, Hist. de Chile, Zoolog. p. 33 7).
Desmodus murinus, et rufus e¢ d’orbignyi, Wagner, op. cit. i. pp. 377- 380 (1844), y SUys,. Mr agners. op pp Desmodus fuscus, Lund, Burmeister, Thiere Brasiliens, p. 57 (1854). Muzzle very short and conical, the distance from the eye to the end of the nose is much less than the distance between the eyes : nose-leaf short, the centre of its upper margin deeply notched, front margin continuous with the upper lip, nostrils opening by oblique slits in its front and upper surface; laterally and behind it is bounded by a deep groove, which is divided into three cells by two ridges passing backwards from the base of the leaf above, connecting it with the base of a nodular elevation between the eyes, which is also connected on each side with a glandular elevation placed in front of the eye and showing on its surface the apertures of three small ducts ; lower lip with a central groove in front bounded externally by large triangular naked elevations, as in Vampyrus: both the upper and lower lips are thin-edged and apparently expansible, at the angles of the mouth folded slightly outwards: ears quite separate, short, rising but slightly above the crown of the head, which is raised above the face-line ; inner margin strongly convex in lower half, then abruptly straight, rounded off at the tip, beneath which the outer margin is slightly concave, then convex, with a small wart clothed with long hairs opposite the base of the tragus, shortly beyond which it terminates; tragus longer than broad, trapezoidal, acutely pointed, the inner side much thickened, lower third of the outer margin irregularly and slightly toothed, the front surface clothed with long hairs (Plate XXX. figs. 7, 7a). Thumb very long and strong, much longer than the foot, quite free from the membrane, at the base of the metacarpal bone and to the inner side a small projecting cushion, a similar but smaller cushion is placed under the metacarpo-phalangeal joint ; claw short, but slightly curved. First phalanx of the middle finger scarcely more than one fifth the length of the metacarpal bone, and two thirds the length of the second phalanx; metacarpal bones of the fourth and fifth fingers progressively slightly shorter than that of the middle finger; wing-membrane from the ankles or tarsus; no calcaneum or tail; interfemoral membrane extending across from the middle of one tibia to the other, about half an inch deep in the centre; feet moderately large and broad, with feeble claws; inner 2n2
548 PHYLLOSTOMID.
side of the heel and base of the toes with small projecting cushions homologous to those of the thumb. All the bones of the extremities are remarkably strong, and the fibula as well as the tibia is well developed.
Above reddish brown, the base of the hairs light yellowish ; beneath much paler throughout, pale yellowish or pale yellowish brown; but various shades of reddish brown, occasionally with an ashy tinge, occur in different individuals. The upper surface of the antebrachial membrane, the wing-membrane as far outwards as a line drawn from the elbow to the foot, and the interfemoral are clothed with short reddish-yellow hairs.
Brain-case large, spheroidal, without prominent ridges or crests, thus indicating the weakness of the muscles of mastication; facial portion of the skull very short and narrow, the canine being close in front of tke infraorbital foramen and the nasal aperture in a line with the anterior margin of the orbits; the bony palate is consequently very short, but extends backwards as far as the middle of the zygomatic arch; basioccipital wide, excavated; auditory bulle ossew moderately large, the cochlese but half concealed by the tympanic bull.
The upper single pair of incisors very large, each tooth forming an oblique-angled triangle, whereof the shortest side is inwards and close to the corresponding side of the opposite tooth; the inferior and longest side is slightly concave, and forms a very sharp cuttingedge, extending from the base of the canine to the acutely-pointed summit of the tooth in the centre; canines smaller than the incisors, but with very sharp anterior and posterior cutting-edges ; the pair of upper (?) premolar teeth small, laterally compressed, with longitudinal cutting-edges continuous with the base of the canine and with each other ; lower incisors small, bifid, in pairs, separated from the canines and also by a space in front ; lower (?) premolars narrow, like those in the upper jaw, but the anterior tooth is slightly larger than the others, separated by a small space from the canine, and its cutting-edge is directed backwards and upwards.
Behind the lower incisors the jaw is deeply hollowed out to receive the extremities of the large upper incisors (Plate XXX. fig. 75).
With the above-described peculiar dentition there is associated as remarkable a departure from the general type in the form of the stomach.
The cesophagus, which scarcely exceeds one of the larger bloodvessels in diameter, opens at right angles into a narrow intestinelike stomach, which almost immediately terminates on the right, without a distinct pylorus, in the duodenum, but on the left forms a greatly elongated cecum bent and folded upon itself, which appears at first sight like part of the intestines. This, the cardiac extremity of the stomach, is, for a short distance to the left of the entrance of the cesophagus, still very narrow, but soon increases in size till near its termination it attains a diameter quite three times that of the short pyloric portion. The length of this cardiac diver-