Part 8 (2/2)

_Melonycteris aurantius_ lacks a small claw on the second digit and has only two lower incisors. In these ways this species is like _woodfordi_, which also is restricted to the Solomons. On the other hand, the structure of the skull of _M. aurantius_ is like that of _M. melanops_, which is the species found in the Bismarck Archipelago.

Although _melanops_ is not yet known from the Solomon Islands, I have included it in the following key.

Key to Known Species of _Melonycteris_

1. Ventral surface darker than dorsum, but not strongly contrasting with it; lacking a small claw on the second digit, 2

1'. Ventral surface nearly black, strongly contrasting with dorsum; small claw on second digit, =Melonycteris melanops=

2(1'). Pelage bright, Cinnamon-Rufous; pos...o...b..tal region of skull expanded (about 8.3 wide), =Melonycteris aurantius=, p. 816

2'. Pelage dark, near Wood-Brown or Cinnamon; pos...o...b..tal region of skull constricted (about 7.5), =Melonycteris woodfordi=, p. 816

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 11. Distribution of _Melonycteris aurantius_ [BC] and _M. woodfordi_ [LW]. For names of islands see Fig. 2.]

=Melonycteris aurantius= Phillips

1966. _Melonycteris aurantius_ Phillips, Jour. Mamm., 47:23-27, March 12, type from Florida Island, additional specimens from Choiseul Island.

_Specimens examined_ (six females; three in alcohol).--Florida in October, 24440; Choiseul in March, 23615, 23617, 23558, 23694, 23681.

_Measurements._--Average and extreme measurements of six females are as follows: Length of head and body, 80.8 (77-106); hind foot, 17.2 (16.0-18.7); ear, 12.7 (11.5-14.0); length of forearm, 49.3 (42.9-53.8).

Average and extreme measurements of skulls of five females are as follows: Greatest length of skull, 31.8 (30.8-33.3); condylobasal length, 29.7 (28.6-32.4); zygomatic breadth, 18 (17.2-20.0); breadth of braincase, 12.6 (12.4-13.2); pos...o...b..tal breadth, 8.3 (8.0-8.9); length of maxillary tooth-row, 10.1 (9.4-10.4); length of mandibular tooth-row, 11.7 (10.8-12.2).

_Remarks._--On Choiseul Island _Melonycteris aurantius_ was taken at the same locality as its congener, _Melonycteris woodfordi_.

Externally, _M. aurantius_ resembles _M. woodfordi_. These species are the same size, but the former is brighter in color (nearly orange in adults) than the latter, which is Wood-Brown dorsally. Internally, differences between _M. aurantius_ and _M. woodfordi_ are more obvious.

In the skull of _M. aurantius_, the pos...o...b..tal region is expanded (measuring about 8.3), whereas in _M. woodfordi_ the pos...o...b..tal region is constricted. Furthermore, in lateral aspect the posterior portion of the skull of _M. aurantius_ is down-turned and the angle of the facial axis with the basicranial axis is much more acute than in _M.

woodfordi_.

The number of upper incisors is highly variable in the six specimens of _M. aurantius_ that I have examined. In two specimens an extra tooth has erupted just anterior to I2 and there is a total of six upper incisors.

In two other specimens an extra tooth has erupted in front of I2 on one side but not the other. I could find no trace of an extra tooth in the remaining two specimens.

Practically nothing is known about the natural history of _M.

aurantius_, or, indeed, that of either of the other two species of this genus. One field collector (Temple, _in litt._) for the Bishop Museum reported that he obtained both _M. aurantius_ and _M. woodfordi_ in the same mist net in one night. The holotype, an adult female, was lactating when obtained in October.

=Melonycteris woodfordi= (Thomas)

1887. _Nesonycteris woodfordi_ Thomas, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser.

5, 14:147, February, type from Shortland Island; 1887, Thomas, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 324, March 15; 1888, Thomas, Proc.

Zool. Soc. London, p. 476, December 4; 1898, Trouessart, Catalogus Mammalium ..., 1:90; 1899, Matschie, Die Megachiroptera ... naturkunde, p. 91; 1904, Trouessart, Catalogus Mammalium .., Suppl., p. 66; 1907, Miller, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 57:74, June 29; 1912, Andersen, Catalogue of the Chiroptera ... British Museum, 1:792, from Alu, Shortland, Fauro, and Guadalca.n.a.l; 1931, Sanborn, Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Zool. Ser., 18:23, February 12, from Russell Island (Pavuvo); 1954, Laurie and Hill, List of land mammals of New Guinea, Celebes and adjacent islands, p. 45, June 30.

1953. _Melonycteris woodfordi_, Pohle, Z. Saugetierk., 17:130, October 27, from Bougainville Island; 1966, Phillips, Jour. Mamm., 47:23, March 12, from Choiseul.

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