[Various notes]

248 General Notts. ill recent years, yet Bow Island is a small atoll in the Sonth Pacific, one of alarge number of coral islets composing the Paumotu chain, and withal amost unlikely place for any member of either the Biowidw or Fringillidce: Darwin (Zool. Voy. 'Beagle,' Birds, 1841, p. 105), in concluding his account of the Galapagos finches refers to the present bird, as follows: "I may here mention that athird and well characterized species of Cactornis has lately been sent by Captain Belcher, R. N. to the Zoological Society; as Capt. Belcher visited Cocos Island, which is the nearest land to the Galapagos Archipelago, being less than 400 miles distant, it is very probable that the species came thence." As we now know something of the ornis of Cocos Island, Darwin's suggestion would lead us to suspect the lately described CocovniH agasxizi Townsend (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., XXVII, 1895, p. 123, pi.), to be identical with PinarohxiaH inornata, and acomparison between afemale of the former and Sharpe's description (Catal. Birds Brit. Mus., X, p. 52) of the latter, actually proves them to be one and the same species. That there was some uncertainty about the habitat of Cactornu inornata at the time Darwin wrote is evident from his surmise that Cocos Island was its true home. From the foregoing it will be seen that the ornis of Polynesia can no longer claim Pinaroloxias inornata, which name should in future be applied to the Cocos Island bird. —C/inrles W. Richmond. The common Nyctinomus of the Greater AntiSles. In the original description of Nyctinomus antilhilarnm, the common free-tailed bat of the Lesser Antilles (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 1902, p. 398, September 12, 1902), Icompared the species with the related form occurring in the Greater Antilles, but neglected to mention the technical name of the latter. This is Nyctinomus musculvs Gundlach (Monatsber. k. Preuss. Akad. Wissensch, Berlin, 18(51, p. 149), based on Cuban specimens. The animal is readily distinguishable from all of the known continental members of the Nyctinomus brasiliensis group by its smaller size, shorter ear, and rudimentary-, peg-like anterior lower premolar.—Oerrit 8. Miller, Jr. Lopho5toma venezuelas changed to Tonatia venezuelse. In publishing apaper in conjuction with Capt. Wirt Robinson, on h collection of mammals made in the vicinity La Guaira, Venezuela, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXIV p. 154, Oct. 3, 1901, Ioverlooked Dr. Palmer's "Random notes on the nomenclature of the Chiroptera, "Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XII p. Ill, April 30, 1898, where he shows that Lopliostoma D'Orbigny 1836 is antedated by Tonatia Gray 1827. The bat described from near Ija Guaira as Lophostoma venczuelcp should stand as Tonatia venezuelcf (Robinson and Tiyon) —Marcus W. Lyon, Jr. General Notes. .24it The external characters of BracbyphySla nana Aliller." The United States National Museum has recently procured by exchange -with the Field Columbian Museum two complete specimens of Brachyphylla nana from acave on the south coast of the Province of Santiago, Cuba. As this bat was originally described from an imperfect skull (Miller, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia. 190-?. p. 409. September 12, 1902) the external characters of the species have hitherto been unknown. In general appearance the Cuban animal resembles true BrarJiyphylla cavernaTuvi from St. Vincent more closely than the peculiarities of its skull would lead one to expect. The only tangible difi'erences appear to be the smaller general size of the Cuban species, and its broader, flatter noseleaf. The light basal area of the fur is grayish white in B. nana and dirty yellowish Avhile in the specimens of B. cavernarum that Ihave examined, but as all have been submitted to the action of preservative fluids this seeming difference may have no real basis. Measurements of an adult female of each species (those of B. ca'cemarv.m, in parenthesis): head and body, 83 (93): tibia, 25 (29); foot, 15 (18.6); fofearm, CO (06); first digit, 12.4 (16): second digit, 48 (53) ;third digit, 102 (115) ;fourth digit, 80 (92) :fifth digit, 80 (88) :ear from meatus, 22.6 (23) :ear from crown, 17 (18) : width of ear. 14 (15).— 6'tTrrt H. Miller, Jr. An overlooked specimen of Chilonycteris psilotis. In 1878 Dobson described an American bat as Chilonycferis pnilotis, basing his account on two specimens without historyin the British Museum (Catal. Chiropt. Brit. Mus., p. 451. pi. XXIII. fig. 2). Apparently nothing more has been published about the animal. While re-arranging some bats in the United States National Museum Irecently found an adult male of this species, (No. 9870), collected in 1858 by Dr. F. Sumchrast, on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. Its characters agree in all respects with those given by Dobson, except that the forearm and tibia are somewhat longer than in the type. Skull scarcely distinguishable from that of Dermonotus fulrus, therefore much more robust than in the small West Indian species of Chilonycteris. Teeth uniformly smaller than those of Dermonotus fulvvs, and upper incisors separated from canine by adistinct space, not as wide, however, as that between the same teeth in Chilonycteris macleayi. Measurerments :Total length. 62; head and body, 46; tail. 16; tibia, 17; foot. 9(8): forearm, 44; thumb, 8;second digit, 37 ;third digit, 71 ;fourth digit, 50 ;fifth digit, 47; ear from meatus, 15.8 ;ear from crown, 11.4 ;width of ear, 7;greatest length of skull, 15; basal length, 12.6; basilar length, 11.6; zygomatic breadth, 8.2; breadth of braincase above roots of zygomata. 8. — Gerrit S. Miller, Jr. *This note and the four following are published here by permission of the Secretarv of the Smithsonian Institution. 250 General Notes. Asecond specimen of Pterygistes azoreum Thomas. The Uiiiled States National Museum contains an adult female of Pterygistes azoreum Thomas, abat otherwise known from the type only, amale collected on the Island of St. Michael, and now in the British Museum. It was taken on the Island of Tevceira, November 7, 1894, by Dr. Wm. Trelease, and agrees closely with the characters given in the original description, except that the forearm is longer and the foot smaller than in the type. Measurements (those in parenthesis are of the British Museum specimen) :total length, 97 (96) ;head and body, 50 (54): tail, 4;j (42): tibia, 16.0 (17); foot, 7; foot without claws, 6(7.7); forearm, 42 (37) ;thumb, 6;second digit, 42 ;third digit, 72 (62) ;fourth digit, 59 ;tifth digit, 48 (43.7) ;ear from meatus, 12 (12) ;ear from crown, 10; width of ear, 11 ;greatest length of skull, 14.0 (14.2) ;basal length, 14; basilar length, 12 (11); zygomatic breadth, 9.6 (9.4); interorbital constriction, 4.6 (4.4) ;mandible, 10.4: ma.xillary toothrow (exclusive of incisors), 5.4 (5.1) ;mandibular toothrow (exclusive of incisors), 6. — Gerrit S. Milkr, Jr. The status of Nyctinomus iievadensis (H. Allen). In March, 1894, Harrison Allen described afreetailed bat of the genus Nyctinomops, from "Nevada and California," as Nyctinomus macrotis neradensis (Monogr. Bats N. Amer. p. 171, March 14, 1894). Afew months later J. A. Allen showed that the animal is specifically distinct from the West Indian Nyctinomus [=Nyctinomops) macrotis (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., VI, pp. 320-328, November 7, 1894). Both writers apparently overlooked the fact that this bat had already been described by Ward from Mexican material as Nyctinomus depressus (Amer. Nat., XXV, p. 747, August, 1891). Having examined several Mexicans specimens which perfectly agree with Harrison Allen's type and with Ward's very detailed discription, Ihave no hesitation in placing Nyctinomus macrotis Iievadensis H. Allen as asynonym of Nyctinomops depressus (Ward).— Gerrit S. Miller, Jr. The generic position of Nyctinomus orthotis H. Allen. Among the bats of the genus Nyctinomops Irecently mentioned the Jamaican Nyctinom/us orthotis of Harrison Allen (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 1902, p. 393, September 12, 1902). This Idid quite inadvertently, as the species is in reality amember of the genus Promopn, closely allied to the Central American P. ylaucinus. It should stand, therefore, as Promops orthotis (H. XWeu).— Gerrit 16. Miller, Jr.