INTRODUCTION.

XXII

)

diligently explored.

he Rodents, Seals, and Bats, and ends with the Canis
The third and concluding volume is devoted to the h ;

> ", » 1 1 1 itin y the le d ol A istrali Vac d CO ary O what was

y S 3 i V1 5 very tra eller who has
S 1 Ss cies and almost multitudinous mn indiy iduals. wy i c a
The are very n umerous 1n & pe SC J y \

VIS t ft t tif V t { S ‘ i 5 is ie t umerous uns C nd
visited J 1e nm erior Cc J " J.

eee ice.—everv oerass > aINO
tracks of these little animals must have been frequently presented to his ae ae ee a
tenanted by its own species of Mus, while all the ueaue oh run iS : = aa : a an
interspersed with the Jerboa-like Hapalotides. The sluggish os anc es er- é a : a
part, from Tasmania through all the southern portions of the ee a a ie “a
by the Aydromys, or Beaver-Rats, as they have been very appropriately e ae iven New Zea a
canna which it was formerly supposed never had a more highly organized mdigenous creature than a bird,
has its Bats; it will not be surprising, therefore, that the sister country of Australia should be tenanted by
numerous species of these Nocturnes; not only are they individually very plentiful, but many distinct oe
or genera are there found. The brushes which abound in fruit-bearing fig-trees are frequented by Vampires
or Pteropi—a form which appears to be mainly confined to the south-eastern and northern portions of the
country, for I have not yet seen any examples from Tasmania, or Southern or Western Australia. The trees
in this strange country which bear either fruit or berries are very few. Even the fruit of the stately para-
sitic Fig is a mere apology for that which we are accustomed to see, and hence but few species of these
great frugivorous Bats occur in the fauna of Australia. At the same time, the paucity of species is amply
compensated by the number of individuals; these, however, are confined to the brushes which stretch along
the eastern coast. In these solitary forests they teem and hang about in thousands, frequently changing
their Zocale when their food becomes scarce or has been entirely cleared off.

The species I more parti-
cularly allude to is the Pteropus poliocephalus. The Cobourg P

eninsula and other parts of the north coast
are also inhabited by a species which, according to Gilbert and Leichardt, is very abundant. <A third and
very fine one frequents F itzroy Island, lying off the eastern coast.

The extraordinary Molossus australis is a native of Victoria, and is the sole

covered in Australia. The Tuphozoi appear to be rock

is from the Peninsula of Cape York.

species of its genus yet dis-
-loving Bats, and the single species as yet discovered
The Scotophili, of which there are several species, are found in all

parts of the country, from Van Diemen’s Land to the most northern part of the

continent.

The restri re yer tilio j “e

estricted genus Vespertilio is more feebly represented than the last-mentioned form, since only two
species are known to exjst j ry: the rae
I xist in the country; these are very generally spread over the southern coast.

Of the leaf-nosed Rhinolophi Ih

ave figured three species—the R.
Zs (a very beautiful

| cervinus, from Cape York, the R. auran-
species) from North-western Austr

alia, and the R. megaphyllus from New South Wales.

The lt t ies
. : 9 W S t l; l species, at least, fre uentir gs i iy. ee ;