. The families and genera of bats . Bats; Bats. THE FAMILIES AND GENERA OP BATS. 81 with two distinct bony phalanges; third digit with two well-de- veloped phalanges, but no trac^of third; shoulder girdle (Plate XI, fig. 1) normal, the seventh cervical vertebra not fused with first dorsal; foot normal; fibula complete, threadlike; pelvis (Plate XI, fig. 2-4) normal, the boundaries of the sacral vertebrae clearly indi- cated; skull (fig. 11) without postorbital processes; premaxillaries separate, not fusing with surrounding parts, the nasal branch well developed, the palatal branch much shorten
. The families and genera of bats . Bats; Bats. THE FAMILIES AND GENERA OP BATS. 81 with two distinct bony phalanges; third digit with two well-de- veloped phalanges, but no trac^of third; shoulder girdle (Plate XI, fig. 1) normal, the seventh cervical vertebra not fused with first dorsal; foot normal; fibula complete, threadlike; pelvis (Plate XI, fig. 2-4) normal, the boundaries of the sacral vertebrae clearly indi- cated; skull (fig. 11) without postorbital processes; premaxillaries separate, not fusing with surrounding parts, the nasal branch well developed, the palatal branch much shortened, appearing as a broadly angular thickening of lower portion of nasal branch; palate ending posteriorly in plane of last molars; teeth of the normal insectivorous type; tragus present, simple; muzzle with distinct ridgelike dermal outgrowth. Remarks.—The family Rhinopomida? is strikingly characterized by the presence of two phalanges in the second finger, the small trochiter of the humerus forming no secondary articula- tion with the scapula, the free premaxillaries from which the palatal branch is nearly lack- ing, and the absence of postorbital processes. The strongly primitive shoulder joint, differ- ing from that of the Megachiroptera merely in the greater size of the humeral tuberosities, as compared with the head of the bone, indicates a low position for the group. This is con- firmed by the retention of two distinct pha- langes in the second finger, a character not found elsewhere in the Microchiroptera, and by the free premaxillaries closely resembling those of the Pteropidse. As these primitive characters are not offset by any strong spe- cializations it seems proper to regard this family as the lowest of the suborder. A similar conclusion was reached by Peters, and addi- tional evidence in its favor has been brought forward by Winge, who, however, assigns to the group a higher rank. Principal subdivisions.—The family Rhinopomida? is represented by the single gen
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbats, bookyear1907
