Vol. XVIII, pp. 229-230 December 9, 1905 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON (uj L A NEW GENUS OF BATS FROM SUMATRA. ; % V BY GERRIT S. MILLER, JR. By permission of tiie Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. On September 9, 1903, Dr. W. L. Abl)ott found two small bats roosting in the abandoned nest of a broad bill in heavy forest on the banks of the Kateman River, eastern Sumatra. These specimens represent a new species l)elonging to a hitherto unknown genus allied to Kerivoula but strikingly distinct. Phoniscus gen. nov. ( Vesper lUlonidx). Type. — Phoniscus alrox sp. nov. Characters. — Like Kerivoula but with upper canine strongly compressed, the shaft with deep longitudinal groove on outer side and with conspicuous posterior cutting edge, the length of the tooth so increased that the point extends noticeal)ly beyond exposed portion of lower canine when jaws are closed, and in life enters a distinct pocket in the lower lip; lower incisors with crowns relatively longer than in Kerivoula, that of the inner tooth with four w'ell developed cusps ; skull with braincase so elevated anteriorly that the highest portion is at middle instead of in occii)ital region. Remarks. — The peculiar shape and greatly increased size of the upper canine, together with the very unusual four-cusped structure of the inner mandibular incisor, sufticiently distinguish this genus from Kerivoula. But the modifications are not confined to these teeth, as the premolars, both above and below, have become more pointed and trenchant, while the whole anterior portion of the rostrum is strengthened. Contrary to what might be expected, the mandible and lower canines remain un-changed. 46— Pkoc. Bioi,. Soc. Wash., Vol. XVIII, 1905. (229)
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