Part 14

Remarks.--Heretofore, Dobsonia inermis inermis was unreported from Fauro, Vella Lavella, Guadalcanal, and Florida. Apparently the subspecies occurs on most islands of the archipelago (see Fig. 9).

In coloration and most cranial dimensions the specimens listed above agree with specimens of D. i. inermis from Alu, Shortland, and Rubiana (Andersen, 1909c:532; 1912:475, 476), Bougainville (Troughton, 1936:348, 349), and Rennell (Hill, 1963:74). The forearm in the adult male holotype of "nesea," from Shortland, is 109.5 as opposed to 109.0 in an adult female topotype of inermis from Ugi (Andersen, 1912:478) in the southeastern part of the archipelago (see Fig. 9). Forearms of specimens of D. i. inermis from Vella Lavella are 107 to 112 (measurements from labels because forearms of these specimens were broken and therefore could not be remeasured). Forearms of specimens from Fauro, Florida, Guadalcanal, and Rennell are 103.6 to 110.0 (see Hill, 1956:74). Variation in length of forearm probably is not significant because no cline is evident (see Fig. 9 and Table 2).

In 1964, 11 specimens of Dobsonia inermis were collected on Choiseul. They are smaller, externally and cranially, than specimens of D. inermis from Sun Cristobal, Ugi, Rennell, Guadalcanal, Florida, Rubiana, Vella Lavella, Shortland, Alu, Bougainville, and Fauro, and may be named and described as follows:

=Dobsonia inermis minimus=, new subspecies

Type.--Adult male skin and skull, in good condition (originally stored in 70 per cent alcohol for about one year), no. BBM-BSIP 23716, Bernice P. Bishop Museum; from Choiseul Island, British Solomon Islands Protectorate; obtained on 20 March 1964 by Philip Temple, original number 1524.

Distribution.--Choiseul Island (type locality); intergrades from Santa Ysabel also assigned to this subspecies.

Diagnosis.--Size small for species; wing membranes, feet, and ears black; dorsal surface of interfemoral membrane sparsely set with silvery hairs, other membranes naked; hair soft, medium length (10 on mantle, 5 on crown), black hairs and scattered white hairs on face and crown; fur of dorsal surface of mantle composed of whitish hairs having faint olive cast imparting general color of Buffy-Citrine; hair of venter short (about 5), soft, and fine; general coloration Buffy-Citrine; cranium delicate; rostrum narrow in dorsal aspect (nasals not expanded laterally); forehead (junction of nasals and frontals) pronounced in lateral aspect; teeth resembling those of other subspecies of D. inermis but slightly smaller.

Comparisons.--From adults of Dobsonia inermis inermis, which occurs on Rennell, San Cristobal, Ugi, Malaita, Florida, Guadalcanal, Rubiana, Vella Lavella, Shortland, Alu, Bougainville, and Fauro, minimus differs in being smaller. Average length of mandible 31.2 and 33.4. For other measurements see Table 2.

From Dobsonia praedatrix, which occurs on New Britain, New Ireland, and Duke of York (northward of the Solomons), minimus differs in being smaller in all dimensions; length of forearm averaging 100.5 as opposed to 116.0, and greatest length of skull 42.4 as opposed to 50.0.

TABLE 2. Average and Extreme Measurements of Two Subspecies of Dobsonia inermis.

================+====================================+=================== | D. i. minimus | D. i. inermis +------------------+-----------------+------------------- | | | Guadalcanal, MEASUREMENT | Choiseul | Santa Ysabel | Fauro, Vella | 4 , 2 | 1 , 2 |Lavella, Florida | | | 9 , 2 ----------------+------------------+-----------------+------------------- Length of head | | | and body |174.5 (170 -180 )| |174.5 (160 -190 ) Tail vertebrae | 28.5 (24 - 33 )| 23.0 (21.5-24.0)| 30.4 ( 25 - 35 ) Hind foot | 25.3 (25.1- 25.9)| 23.5 (23.5-24.0)| 29.3 ( 26.0- 31.6) Ear | 21.5 (21.0- 22.9)| 21.1 (21.0-21.5)| 23.1 ( 19 - 25 ) Length of | | | forearm |100.5 (98.1-104.0)|105.3 (104 -107 )|108.4 (105 -112 ) 2nd metacarpal | 43.6 (42.6- 45.2)| | 48.1 ( 45.9- 50.9) 3rd metacarpal | 61.5 (59.8- 62.9)| | 67.6 ( 65.2- 68.5) 4th metacarpal | 57.5 (56.5- 58.5)| | 62.5 ( 58.7- 65.5) 5th metacarpal | 59.0 (57.0- 60.5)| | 64.4 ( 61.8- 66.0) | | | Greatest length | | | of skull | 42.4 (42.1- 43.5)| 44.0 (43.0-45.6)| 45.9 ( 45.2- 47.4) Condylobasal | | | length | 40.4 (39.5- 41.3)| 41.7 (41.1-42.6)| 43.6 ( 43.1- 45.0) Zygomatic | | | breadth | 25.6 (24.9- 26.8)| 26.5 (25.7-27.6)| 27.9 ( 27.2- 28.5) Breadth of | | | braincase | 16.8 (16.5- 17.4)| 18.0 (17.1-19.9)| 17.9 ( 16.7- 19.0) Breadth across | | | upper canines | 8.4 ( 8.1- 8.7)| | 9.2 ( 9.2- 9.5) Breadth across | | | first upper | | | molars | 12.1 (11.8- 12.6)| | 13.1 ( 12.6- 13.3) Length of | | | maxillary | | | tooth-row | 15.6 (15.5- 15.8)| 16.4 (16.0-17.2)| 16.4 ( 15.9- 17.0) Length of | | | mandibular | | | tooth-row | 17.1 (16.8- 17.6)| 17.8 (17.3-18.4)| 18.2 ( 17.8- 19.4) ----------------+------------------+-----------------+-------------------

Measurements.--Comparative measurements of the subspecies inermis and minimus are given in Table 2. Some measurements of the type are as follows: Length of head and body, 147; tail vertebrae, 31; hind foot, 25; ear, 21; length of forearm, 99.5; 2nd metacarpal, 42.8; 3rd metacarpal, 62.7; 4th metacarpal, 58.5; 5th metacarpal, 59.1; greatest length of skull, 42.2; condylobasal length, 40.6; zygomatic breadth, 25.8; breadth of braincase, 16.8; length of maxillary tooth-row, 15.8; length of mandible, 31.2.

Remarks.--Dobsonia inermis minimus is the smallest subspecies of Dobsonia inermis. Specimens from Santa Ysabel, southeastward of Choiseul, are slightly larger than the type and paratypes of minimus. As can be seen in the scatter diagram (Fig. 8), a male from Santa Ysabel is as large as one male and most females of D. i. inermis. The other three specimens from Santa Ysabel also are slightly larger than specimens of minimus from Choiseul, but are much smaller than specimens of D. i. inermis, and, therefore, are referred to D. i. minimus.

Although there is a cline in size of Dobsonia inermis from Choiseul to Florida (generally southward; Fig. 9), no cline in size is apparent between Choiseul and Fauro (generally westward). Specimens of D. inermis from Fauro are average for the subspecies inermis; there is no evidence, in the small series available, of intergradation between minimus on Choiseul and inermis on Fauro.

Specimens examined (eight males and three females, all originally in alcohol; seven crania, all adults, extracted and cleaned).--Choiseul in March, 23565, 23628, 23637, 23665-67, 23640, 23714, 23716 (holotype), 23717, 23720. Ellis LeG. Troughton kindly examined and measured nos. AM-M. 3693, AM-M. 3694, AM-M. 3937, and AM-M. 3940, from Santa Ysabel in the Australian Museum.

Subfamily Macroglossinae

=Macroglossus= F. Cuvier

1824. Macroglossus F. Cuvier, Des dents des mammiferes ... zoologiques, p. 248.

1840. Kiodotus Blyth, in Cuvier's animal kingdom ..., p. 69.

1891. Carponycteris Lydekker, in Flower and Lydekker, mammals living and extinct, p. 654.

1902. Odontonycteris Jentink, Notes Leyden Mus., 23:140, July 15.

Macroglossus, the widest-ranging genus of macroglossine bats, occurs from southeastern Asia to the southern islands of the Solomon Archipelago (see Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1966:101; Laurie and Hill, 1954:44). One species, known also from Celebes and New Guinea, occurs in the Solomons and is represented there by an endemic subspecies.

Numerous generic names have been applied, at one time or another, to bats now considered as Macroglossus. Trouessart (1904:65) and Miller (1907:70) listed the one bat of this genus occurring in the Solomons under Carponycteris and Kiodotus, respectively. Andersen (1911:642; 1912:767) and, later, Sanborn (1931:22) identified this bat as Macroglossus lagochilus microtus. Troughton (1936:350), reporting an extension of range of this species in the Solomons, used the generic name Odontonycteris without explanation. Andersen (1912:754) pointed out that Jentink originally established the name Odontonycteris on the basis of an extra premolar in each upper jaw as opposed to the usual two in Macroglossus, and arranged Odontonycteris as a synonym of Macroglossus because "in no genus of Megachiroptera are dental anomalies of so frequent occurrence as in Macroglossus, and on no point of the jaws are these anomalies ... so often met with as on that occupied by the molar series." Sanborn (1931:22) and Phillips (1966:27) noted variation in number of incisors in Macroglossus as well as in Melonycteris, another macroglossine genus. All of the more recent workers (Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1966; Pohle, 1953; Laurie and Hill, 1954) use the name Macroglossus.

=Macroglossus lagochilus=

Macroglossus lagochilus has at least three subspecies, one of which is endemic to the Solomons. The species ranges from Celebes on the west to the Solomon Islands on the east, occurring not only in New Guinea but also on many of the small adjacent islands (see Laurie and Hill, 1954:44).

=Macroglossus lagochilus microtus= Andersen

1911. Macroglossus lagochilus microtus Andersen, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 8, 7:642, June, type from Guadalcanal, additional specimens from Florida; 1912, Andersen, Catalogue of the Chiroptera ... British Museum, 1:767; 1931, Sanborn, Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser., 18:22, February 12, from San Cristobal; 1953, Pohle, Z. Säugetierk., 17:130, October 27, from Bougainville; 1954, Laurie and Hill, List of land mammals of New Guinea, Celebes and adjacent islands, p. 44, June 30.

1888. Macroglossus australis (part). Thomas, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 476, December 4, from Guadalcanal.