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produced by glands on the sides of the body. The shrew is very beneficial
as it feeds largely on noxious insects and is also intolerant of rats in its
territory. The young trail behind the mother in her nocturnal rambles
forming a train by each holding to the tail of the one in front. Several races
of the musk shrew based on size and body colour have been described
from various parts of the country. Another species occurring in
Maharashtra is Anderson’s shrew (Suncus stoliczkanus) recorded from
Bombay, Poona, and Vidarbha.
Order Chiroptera
Flying mammals with the forelimbs modified for flight. The greatly
elongated fingers, the arms, sides of the body and legs support the wing
membrane. The knee is turned inwards and combined with the weak limbs
make the animals helpless on the ground. They rest hanging head
downwards and suspended by their hind legs but some species cling to
rock faces with all four limbs. Except for a few large bats which are fruit
eaters all others are insectivorous. The false vampires take in addition to
insects, other bats, small birds, and lizards.
Two sub-orders are recognised, the Megachiroptera or fruit eating bats
distinguished from the Microchiroptera or insect eating bats by dental
characters and the form of the ear. The margins of the ears meet before
they reach the head in the former and arise separately in the latter.
The fruit bats of the Indian region are grouped in one family, the
Pteropidae. Three out of the five species occurring in India, are found in
Maharashtra and occur throughout the State. The Fulvous Fruit Bat
(Rousettus leschenaultiDesmaret 1820), a light brown, medium sized (up
to about six inches in length) bat, lives in colonies of 2, to 2,000
individuals (in caves, ruins and wells). The flying Fox,Pteropus
giganteus(Brunnich 1782), the largest among Indian bats with a wing span
of about a yard, lives in large colonies in trees, often in the middle of busy
streets of towns and villages and is normally seen only in such association
with man. Except for the naked black wings the body is rufous in colour.
The Short-nosed Fruit Bat (Cyanopterus sphinx Vahl, 1797) is
FAUNA 600