E. Geoffroy, 1818
Egyptian Tomb bat
External characters (Table 20)
This is a small species of Taphozous (Tpe1). The forearm (61.3 mm; 59.2-63.8 mm) is considerably longer than the third metacarpal; in T. longimanus it is about equal. The gular sac is large in some males but may be difficult to locate in others; it is absent in females. In contrast to T. longimanus , the chin is always hairy, in both sexes. The upper body is a pale grey-brown with the hair bases whitish; the ventral surface is a pale, mouse-grey. The hairs on the throat are buffy brown in some specimens. The interfemoral and wing membranes are pale brown. The radio-metacarpal pouch is well developed and the wings are attached to the tibiae, not the ankles as in T. longimanus (Tme4).
Cranial characters
With an average condylo-canine length of 19.0 (18.4-19.7), the skull (Fig. 48) is relatively small. It has a characteristically narrow braincase as compared to that of T. melanopogon and to a lesser extent T. longimanus . The anterior border of the mesopterygoid space is distinctly U-shaped and clearly differs from the V-shaped mesopterygoid space of T. longimanus . The basisphenoid pits are shorter and narrower than those of T. longimanus and T. melanopogon .
Dentition
Upper toothrow length (C-M3) averages 8.6 mm (8.2-8.9 mm). The dentition (Fig. 50) is essentially similar to that of T. longimanus and T. melanopogon but is less robust.
Variation
Specimens from India and Pakistan are referred to the nominate race T. p. perforatus.