Type.—Adult male, skin and skull, in good condition (originally stored in alcohol for about one year), no. BSIP 23636, Bernice P. Bishop Museum; from Choiseul Island, British Solomon Islands Protectorate; obtained on 11 March 1964, by Philip Temple, original number 1441.
Distribution.—Known only from Choiseul and Santa Ysabel islands (see [Fig. 12]).
Diagnosis.—Small for Nyctimene; wing membranes brown with scattered yellow spots (dried specimens); uropatagium, feet, and ears brown; dorsum of tibia set with hair, ventral surface naked; dorsum of uropatagium sparsely set with pale brown hairs, ventral surface almost bare; fringe of hairs along two centimeters of dorsal and ventral surfaces of trailing edge of wing membrane; proximal third of dorsal surface of forearm sparsely set with hairs; pelage of back soft and thick, of medium length (about 7); hair on crown and nape short (about 4); well-defined black dorsal stripe, extending from uropatagium to shoulders; skull resembling that of other subspecies of N. albiventer but relatively smaller; zygomatic arch delicate, slender anteriorly; P2 small (see [Fig. 14]). Sexually dichromatic as follows: male—dorsum Hair-Brown, bases of hairs darker; hair on throat sparse, medium length (about 6), Hair-Brown; fur along sides of abdomen Drab; female—dorsum having Buffy-Brown cast, some individual hairs Hair-Brown; shoulders Sayal-Brown; hair on throat sparse, Hair-Brown on throat and midline of abdomen; sides of abdomen Sayal-Brown.
Comparisons.—From Nyctimene major scitulus, the largest member of this genus in the Solomons, N. a. minor differs in being smaller in all measurements taken; forearm averaging 54.8 as opposed to 73.5; greatest length of skull 28.2 as opposed to 37.0, and females pale brown instead of pale gray.
From nine adults of Nyctimene albiventer bougainville from Bougainville, Kolombangara, and Guadalcanal, minor differs as follows: averaging slightly smaller in all dimensions; forearm averaging 54.8 as opposed to 57.9; second metacarpal averaging 27.4 as opposed to 28.3; 5th metacarpal averaging 38.5 as opposed to 40.0; condylobasal length 26.7 as opposed to 28.0; length of mandibular tooth-row 10.3 as opposed to 10.9; mandible smaller (see [Fig. 14]); dorsal stripe fainter.
From Nyctimene albiventer papuanus, known from eastern New Guinea, New Britain, and the Admiralty Islands, minor differs as follows: slightly smaller in most dimensions; forearm averaging 54.8 as opposed to 57.0; length of maxillary tooth-row 8.9 as opposed to 9.8; length of mandibular tooth-row 10.3 as opposed to 11.0; breadth across upper third premolars notably less (7.5 as opposed to 8.4).
N. a. minor differs from N. albiventer albiventer Gray, which occurs about 800 miles to the west of minor, in ways made apparent by the description by Andersen (1912:700-701). N. a. minor occurs about 1500 miles eastward of the place from which N. a. draconilla Thomas, a subspecies essentially unknown to me, was named (see Laurie and Hill, 1954:46).
From Nyctimene sanctacrucis, known from the Santa Cruz Islands, minor differs as follows: much smaller in all dimensions; forearm averaging 54.8 as opposed to 75; greatest length of skull 28.2 as opposed to 34.5; length of maxillary tooth-row 8.9 as opposed to 12.9.