A Hand-book to the Primates, Volume 1 (of 2)

ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

Edited by R. BOWDLER SHARPE, LL.D., F.L.S., etc.

A HAND-BOOK

TO THE

PRIMATES.

BY

HENRY O. FORBES, LL.D., F.Z.S., etc.,

DIRECTOR OF MUSEUMS, LIVERPOOL,

Author of "A Naturalist's Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago,"
etc., etc., etc.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

W. H. ALLEN & CO., LIMITED,

13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W.

1894.

PREFACE.

The great increase in our knowledge of animals which has taken place since the volume on Monkeys was published in "Jardine's Naturalist's Library" some sixty years ago, cannot be better illustrated than by the fact that our excellent contributor, Dr. H. O. Forbes, has found it impossible to compress that knowledge into a single volume of the present issue. There is, moreover, no Museum which contains such a complete series of skins of the Primates, as to render a perfect "monograph" of the Order possible. Dr. Forbes has endeavoured in these volumes to bring the subject up to date, and has devoted some years of study to the two which now appear under his name, and he has had the great advantage of having seen many of the species of which these volumes treat, in a state of nature. If diligent research and patient work, combined with a sound anatomical knowledge and an acquaintance with many species of Monkeys in their natural habitat, avail anything, then these volumes should present to the student a more concise epitome of the characteristics of the Primates than any other essay yet offered to the public. It has been found impossible to reproduce any of the plates in the old "Naturalist's Library" of Jardine. They would have formed, with appropriate inscriptions, a very good instalment of a series of "Comic Natural History" volumes, as they were, in fact, nothing but a set of extraordinary caricatures of Monkeys. I have, therefore, again to acknowledge the liberality of the publishers, in adopting my suggestion that a perfectly new set of illustrations should be prepared. These have been executed by Mr. J. G. Keulemans, with a result, I hope, that will satisfy the reader.

R. BOWDLER SHARPE.

INTRODUCTION.

In the first volume will be found an account of the Lemuroidea, and the Anthropoidea as far as the group of the Macaques of the family Cercopithecidæ. The second volume continues with the latter genus, and contains the rest of the Monkeys, and the Apes, as well as a summary of the geographical distribution of the species of the Order Primates.

I have not attempted to write a complete synonymy of the species of Monkeys. The literature is scattered over many, often obscure, periodicals, and without seeing the actual specimens described by some of the older writers, it would be easy to introduce a great deal of confusion into the synonymy. I have, therefore, only attempted to give the principal references.

I must express my obligation to Dr. Günther, F.R.S., the Keeper of the Zoological Department in the British Museum, for the facilities of study afforded to me in that institution. To Mr. Oldfield Thomas I am likewise greatly indebted for much assistance, and for many a kindly hint.

Dr. Forsyth Major, who is well-known as one of the foremost authorities on the Lemurs, not only gave me valuable information as to the species and literature of the Lemuroidea, but was even so good as to furnish me with the descriptions of several new species.

Lastly, to my friend the Editor, I have to return my sincere thanks for the patience with which he has revised my MSS., and for the verification of numbers of references, only to be found in the great libraries of London, and inaccessible to an author dwelling in the provinces.

HENRY O. FORBES.

SYSTEMATIC INDEX.

LIST OF PLATES.

ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY.

MAMMALS.

ORDER PRIMATES.

LEMURS, MONKEYS AND APES.

INTRODUCTION.

Of the varied forms of animal life that people the globe, those that possess a back-bone and two pairs of limbs (the Vertebrata) are considered the highest in the scale. Of the Vertebrata, those are held to be of superior organisation which possess warm red blood and suckle their young with milk from the breast (i.e., Mammalia). Our present volume deals with the highest and most specialised group of the Mammalia, and, therefore, of the whole Animal Kingdom.

Man, in respect of his mental endowments, stands alone and unapproachable among living creatures. Considered as to his "place in nature," however, he must be described as an erect-walking Mammal, possessing anterior extremities developed into hands of great perfection, for exclusive use as tactile and grasping organs, and posterior limbs, on which his body is perfectly balanced and entirely supported, exclusively devoted to locomotion, as well as highly specialised cerebral characters. These attributes in part constitute the standard by which we estimate superiority in animal structure, and fitness of adaptation.

Notwithstanding the numerous varieties and races of mankind distributed over every region of the globe, each exhibiting differences in habits, customs and superficial complexion, Man forms but one species, Homo sapiens, the sole representative of the unique genus of his family. Though the genus Homo is thus far apparently zoologically isolated, there is a remarkable group of animals, which we designate "Apes," and which, possessing many of the same structural characters more or less modified, stand apart from all the other Mammalia, and make a distinct approach to Man. Between Man, however, and the Apes, even the untrained eye at once perceives, amid obvious marks of inferiority, unmistakable resemblances, while anatomical investigations reveal that "the points in which Man differs from the Apes most nearly resembling him, are not of greater importance than those in which the Ape differs from other and universally acknowledged members of the group." (Flower and Lydekker.) The Apes, on the other hand, are so nearly related to the Monkeys, the Baboons and the Marmosets, by characters which insensibly merge into each other that they, along with Man, must logically be embraced in the same zoological division. The animals known to us as Lemurs, called by the Germans "Half-Apes" and by the French "False-Monkeys," are the nearest to the Apes and Man of all the remaining Mammals, though there are many points of divergence from the above-named groups. The Lemurs, in fact, exhibit considerable affinity to lower forms of Mammalia, especially to the Insectivora, but in internal structure and habit they approach the Anthropiform[^[1]] group just referred to—in the flattened form of the digits, the opposable great toe, with its ankle-bone (the ento-cuneiform) rounded for its articulation, as in the higher Apes and Man.

The Lemurs have, by many distinguished naturalists, been relegated to a distinct Order quite separate from the latter; but by such pre-eminent authorities as Linnæus, Lesson, Huxley, Broca and Flower, they have been assigned a subordinate position within that great Order, on which has been conferred the rank of the Primates of the Animal Kingdom.

The Order Primates, therefore, comprises two very homogeneous sub-orders—(1) The Lemur-like animals (Lemuroidea) including the Aye-Aye, the Tarsier, and the True Lemurs; and (2) the Man-like animals (the Anthropoidea), which embrace the Marmosets, the Baboons, the great Apes, and Man.

In common with all other Mammals, the Primates are furnished with an epidermal covering, which, except in Man, consists of a woolly or hairy fur. They possess four limbs and a tail, which may be long, short, or concealed, and which is often used as a prehensile organ. The young are born in a condition of greater or less helplessness, with their eyes, as a rule, unopened, and the framework of their bodies incompletely ossified, and consequently requiring protective care and entire nourishment from the mother, for a considerable period. At maturity this skeleton consists of a skull, a breast- and a back-bone of many pieces, ribs, jointed limbs, and a pair of collar-bones. As a knowledge of many of these bones and some of the more prominent organs of the body are necessary for an accurate comprehension of the description and classification of the animals discussed in this volume, a few of the more important must be briefly referred to.

The cranium, formed of many bones firmly united together, consists of a cerebral region, or box, containing and guarding the brain, and a facial region, in which are situated, besides the mouth, the organs of sight and smell. The bones connected with the mouth are the two maxillæ, along the margins of which are placed the grinding- or cheek-teeth; the two pre-maxillæ, in which are set the cutting- and the eye-teeth; and lastly, the palatine bones which form the roof of the mouth. Hinged on to the sides of the cranium is the toothed mandible, or lower jaw, composed of two halves, which may be solidly or loosely joined together in the mid-line, or symphysis. Along the under surface of the skull, there are, besides the great (often posterior) orifice for the entrance of the spinal cord, numerous foramina, or openings, for the passage of blood-vessels for the nourishment of the brain, and of nerves which bring all parts of the body into relation with the supreme directing centre. Conspicuous near its posterior part, on each side, is an ivory-like capsule, the periotic bone, containing the essential organ of hearing. Lying beneath the lower jaw is the hyoid arch, a slender framework of bones, supporting the tongue and the upper end of the windpipe with the organ of voice. In a few of the Monkeys and Apes certain of the bones of this arch are much enlarged and hollowed for increasing the volume of sound emitted by them. On either side of the great opening which is so conspicuous at the hinder part of the skull, for the reception of the spinal cord, is a smooth kidney-shaped surface, called a "condyle." These two condyles serve for the articulation of the first segment of the back-bone to the cranium, and by the possession of this pair of condyles the Mammalian skull can always be distinguished from that of Birds and Reptiles. The pieces of which the back-bone are composed are named the vertebræ. Those of the neck, the "cervical" vertebræ, are recognised by having no true ribs attached to them, and are, in all Primates, seven in number. Those of the back, or "dorsal" vertebræ, may be distinguished by having articulated to them, on each side, a movable rib, the other end of which is attached to the breast-bone; they follow next to the cervical vertebræ, while to them succeed the "lumbar" vertebræ which carry no complete ribs. The dorsal and lumbar segments vary in number, but together they rarely exceed seventeen. Behind these extend the "sacral" vertebræ—completely ossified together, and lastly, the bones of the tail or "caudal" vertebræ, which may be many or few, according to the length of that appendage.

The fore-limb is composed of three segments, the arm, fore-arm, and hand, together with a block by which it is attached to the side of the body. To this block—the blade-bone or scapula—is articulated the arm-bone, or humerus, which at its elbow-joint hinges with the two bones, the ulna and the radius, of the fore-arm, on which in turn the hand is rotated. The hand is made up of three parts, the wrist-bones, or carpus, closely united together in two transverse rows with a central bone intervening between them; next the elongated bones of the palm of the hand, or metacarpus, one to each finger, and lastly the phalanges, or finger-bones, three to each digit, except in the thumb, where there are but two. The hind-limb is formed on exactly the same plan. It has a connecting block—the pelvis; giving suspension to the thigh, with its single bone, the femur, to which articulates the leg, with two bones (tibia and fibula), and the tripartite foot, composed of tarsus, metatarsus, and phalanges.

Of the digestive organs of the Primates the teeth present very important characters, from the point of view of the classification of the Order. They differ in form and number, and have distinct functions to perform. The teeth situated in front are the incisors and canines, sharp and pointed, for seizing, cutting, and holding the food. Behind them come the pre-molars, and still further back the molars, both with broad crowns of complicated tubercles and ridges for milling the hard portions contained in the food. Animals provided—as all the Primates are—with these different sorts of teeth, are said to be Heterodont,[^[2]] in contradistinction to forms like the Dolphins and Whales, which are termed Homodont,[^[3]] because the whole of these teeth are of the same pattern. The Primates are Diphyodont[^[4]] as well, because many of their permanent teeth are preceded by another set, commonly known as the milk-teeth. In order to present to the eye at a glance the number of each sort that any species possesses, a dental formula has been adopted by naturalists. Such a formula as I22, C11, P33, M33 = 36, indicates that in one half of the mouth, above and below, there are 2 incisors, 1 canine, 3 pre-molars, and 3 molars = 18; and therefore in the two halves of the mouth together there are 36 teeth in all.

The masticated food, partially digested by the saliva of the mouth, descends the gullet by the muscular contractions of its walls to the simple, sac-like, stomach, and thence to the intestines. These latter consist of two portions, one smaller and narrower, nearer to the stomach, and a second portion further down, larger and wider; the junction of the two portions being marked by a process of varying length, the cæcum. The stomach and intestines, with other important structures, such as the liver, kidneys and generative organs, are contained in a lower cavity, separated by a muscular midriff, the diaphragm, from the upper part or thorax, containing the blood-purifying and pumping organs, the lungs and the heart.

The upper part of the windpipe is, in all Primates, modified to form the larynx, or organ of voice, constituted by fibrous strings stretched across its orifice, where they may be set in vibration by the air, in its passage to and from the lungs.

The brain is relatively large in proportion to the body, and attains in the higher of the two sub-orders its most perfect development. The main brain (or cerebral hemispheres), when viewed from above, in size preponderates over, and conceals (except in the Lemurs) all the other parts of that organ. The surface of its lateral halves, which are connected by transverse bands so as to insure harmony of action between them, is marked by fissures and foldings, or convolutions, which vary in number and complexity, evidently in relation to the intelligence of the animal. The brain within the skull gives origin to the nerves for the chief organs of sense; while from its posterior part it is continued along the back—within a canal formed by the neural arches of the vertebræ—as the spinal column, from which arise the rest of the nerves for the body.

The young of all the Primates are nourished in the mother's womb by the passage of material from the blood-vessels of the parent through an organ known as the placenta. They are all born in a helpless condition, and remain unable to look after themselves for a considerable period, during which they are dependent on the milk secreted on the ventral surface of the mother by two or four glands, the teats or mammæ—those characteristic organs from which the "Mammalia" have derived their name. These glands are present in both sexes, but are functional only in the female.

We shall now proceed to describe more minutely the first of the two sub-orders of the Primates—the Lemur-like animals.

I. THE LEMURS—SUB-ORDER LEMUROIDEA.

The Aye-Aye, the Tarsier, and the True Lemurs constitute this first sub-order. They are characterised by having the muzzle long and narrow, more or less Dog-like in shape, and the upper lip often divided into two by the nose-pad. The external ears (Fig. 1) are enlarged, with flattened margins, but have no "hem" as in the higher Anthropoids. (Fig. 2.)

The trunk is relatively long and compressed, and the tail when long is never truly prehensile. Of the limbs, the posterior are longer than the anterior, and all have five digits, each bearing a flat nail except the second toe, which has invariably a long pointed claw, their tips ending in prominent discoidal tactile pads. (Fig. 3.)

Of the digits, the index is sometimes quite rudimentary, while the thumb is large, and the great toe especially so, both being opposable. Teats occur on the breast, on the abdomen, or on both.

Of the skeleton, the eye-sockets, or orbits, are directed forward, and have complete bony margins, which, however, are not closed in by bone behind (as in Monkeys), but freely communicating beneath the post-orbital process (except in Tarsius) with the temporal hollow behind. In the young of some species the orbit is more enclosed than it is in the adult: the orifice for the lachrymal duct of the eye is placed external to the margin of the orbit: the hollow for the olfactory lobes of the brain is always large.

Fig. 3. Foot of Chirogale trichotis, Günther.
(P. Z. S., 1875, p. 79.)

Having four kinds of teeth, and a set in succession to the milk-teeth, they are Heterodont and Diphyodont. The dental formula is I22, C11, P33, M33 = 36 (vide anteà, p. [6]), and the upper jaw has a toothless space in the centre (except in the Aye-Aye). Of the upper teeth, the incisors are sometimes absent, but generally present; if unequal in size the inner one is the larger of the two. The canines are prominent; the pre-molars all have a cingulum, or girdle, round the base, more or less enlarged backwards into a process ("talon" or "heel"); the anterior pre-molar vertically long and canine-shaped; the median and posterior with three main points (tubercles or cusps) and one or two smaller ones on the crown, and having a bar or ridge uniting the front inner with the hind outer cusp. The anterior and median molars have three or four main cusps, and one or two smaller or subsidiary ones on the crown; the cingulum is well developed. The posterior molars have generally three cusps.

In the lower jaw the incisors are close-set and comb-like, remarkable for protruding in front, like the teeth of a Rat or a Rabbit. The canines also protrude horizontally, and, being placed alongside of the incisors, are difficult to distinguish from the latter excepting that they are broader and thicker.

Of the pre-molars the anterior are canine-shaped, the median and posterior ones have three main, and one or two subordinate, cusps on the crowns. In both the upper and lower molars, cross-bridges stretch between the outer and inner front cusps as well as between the outer and inner hind cusps. There is an oblique ridge between the hind outer and the front inner cusp, and another is often present between the front outer cusp and the anterior "heel," producing, as Huxley has pointed out, almost a double crescentic pattern, as in many lower Mammals. The posterior molar has four or five cusps.

Of the milk-teeth, the incisors in the upper jaw change first. Of the molars, two are developed before the change of the pre-molars. In the lower jaw the incisors change first, and when two or three pre-molars have developed the last molar has still to come.

The arm-bone, or humerus, has one perforation (entepicondylar foramen) on its inner margin, and another above the joint (except in Perodicticus). The bones of the fore-arm (radius and ulna), and those of the leg (tibia and fibula) are not co-ossified (except in Tarsius), so that the palm or sole can be turned up at will.

The bones of the digits are more or less flat and rounded at the tips (differing in this respect from the Insectivora). One of the ankle-bones, for the articulation of the opposable great toe, the ento-cuneiform, as it is called, is rounded, as in the Anthropoid Apes and Man. The thumb is opposable, but its articulating bone in the wrist is not rounded, except in Avahis and Indris, which genera agree in this respect with Anthropopithecus and Man. The wrist has its central bone (os centrale) present; it is absent in Man and the higher Apes.

The knee is free and not united to the side of the body by integument.

The two halves of the lower jaw are not always co-ossified (as is the case in the Anthropoidea).

The opening in the base of the skull (the foramen rotundum) which transmits from the brain a branch of the fifth nerve for the upper jaw, and the sphenoidal fissure, which gives exit to the third, fourth and sixth cranial nerves, have but one aperture, as in the Rabbit, which belongs to the Rodentia.

The sacral vertebræ are generally three in number, and the lumbar and dorsal together vary from nineteen to twenty-three.

The brain, as Sir William Flower has observed, departs considerably from the form of what may be called the primatial type, and approaches in form to that of the carnivorous animals. The hind-brain, or cerebellum, is not completely covered by the cerebrum. The latter has but few convolutions (indicating a low intelligence), but its posterior lobe is always present, though more or less rudimentary, and so also are many fissures, which are characteristic of its surface in the higher Primates. The olfactory lobes are usually large and not covered by the cerebrum.

The uterus and structures for the nutrition of the young prior to birth are low in type, and approximate to the conditions seen in the Pig, the Horse, the Chevrotains, and the Ruminants. The unborn Lemur is often encased (as among the Sloths) in a skin-like covering (epitrichium) which breaks into patches before birth.

The tongue has a horny supplementary under-tongue (sublingua) attached beneath it. The stomach is simple, not formed of several compartments. The transverse portion of the great intestine is convoluted in a remarkable manner upon itself, the cæcum also being very large. The main arteries of the arm and leg break up (as in the Sloths) into an immense number of small vessels (called retia mirabilia) parallel to one another instead of being simple branching trunks.

The long tendons of the muscles for flexing the digits (the flexor longus digitorum) differ generally in arrangement from those of the higher Primates.

The Lemuroids are of no commercial value to Man.

As regards their distribution, the Lemuroidea are now absolutely confined to the Old World, and predominate in the island of Madagascar, where, as M. Grandidier remarks in his magnificent work on that country, there is scarcely a little wood in any district in which they are not found. Indeed, of the nearly seventy species of Mammals inhabiting that island, thirty-five, or one-half, are Lemurs. Members of the family also occur across the whole of the neighbouring continent of Africa, but their northern range does not reach quite to the tropic, whereas it extends some few degrees beyond it in the Southern Hemisphere. Elsewhere they are confined to the forests of the Oriental region. More or less isolated in Southern India, they re-appear in China, and spreading south to Java they reach as far east as Celebes and the Philippine Islands. The present isolation of the Lemurs in two such distant areas—in Africa and Madagascar and some of the Mascarene Islands on the one hand, and in Southern India, China, Ceylon, and the Malayan Islands on the other—has been considered by some naturalists as weighty evidence in favour of a former land connection between these distant regions.

Though so restricted in their distribution at the present day, this group was more widely represented in past ages of the world's history, as we shall have to point out later on. Abundant fossil remains prove that they lived in Europe and in North America, where to-day they are quite unknown.

The Lemuroidea are almost entirely arboreal, and seldom come to the ground, except the Sifakas, which then progress on their hind legs by a series of bounds, holding their hands over their head in a ludicrous fashion. Most of them are nocturnal, or crepuscular, sleeping the greater part of the day in holes or on a branch of a tree coiled up in a ball. Their food consists chiefly of leaves, fruits, honey, birds' eggs, and birds, or any small animals they can pounce upon.

The Lemurs now living are divided into three families. The Aye-Aye and the Tarsiers, on account of their very special characters, constitute each a distinct family—named Chiromyidæ and Tarsiidæ respectively—while the True Lemurs form the third, the Lemuridæ, to which all the remaining forms belong.

THE AYE-AYES. FAMILY CHIROMYIDÆ.

This very aberrant family contains only one species; the characters of the family and of the genus Chiromys are, therefore, necessarily those of the single species known.

THE AYE-AYE. CHIROMYS MADAGASCARIENSIS.

Sciurus madagascariensis, Gmel., S. N., i., p. 152 (1788).

Daubentonia madagascariensis, Geoffr., Décad. Philos., iv., p. 193 (1795); Dahlbom, Studia, p. 326, t. 12.

Chiromys madagascariensis, Cuv., Leçons d'Anat. Comp., Tabl. de Class., 1 (1800); Owen, Tr. Z. S., vol. v., p. 33; Peters, Abhandl. K. Akad. Berlin, 1865, p. 79.

(Plate I.)

PLATE I.

THE AYE-AYE.

Characters.—Head short and round; face short-snouted, with a patch of bristles below the eye, between the ear and the angle of the mouth; eyes round, prominent; eyebrows long and bristly; pupils wide, furnished with a false eyelid (a nictitating membrane); ears large, rounded, directed backwards, naked, and studded with small protuberances; tail longer than the body, bushy, with hair 3-4 inches long; hind-limbs longer than the fore-limbs, the thigh-bone being one third longer than the humerus, the hand the longest segment of the fore-limb; fingers long—the fourth the longest—with compressed and pointed claws, which are proportionately much longer than the toes; the middle or third digit slender and very remarkable, being extremely attenuated and wire-like; thumb opposable, and placed at an acute angle to the short index; great toe opposable, set at an open angle to the other digits, its nail flat; the remaining toes with pointed compressed claws (like the second toe of Lemuridæ and second and third of Tarsiidæ). Teats, two, placed low down on the abdomen. Length of body and tail together 36 inches. Skull highly arched, convex transversely; muzzle short and deep; bony palate not extending behind the middle of the posterior molar tooth; lower jaw with condyle elongated from before backwards and on a level with the cheek-teeth, its two halves united at an acute angle by elastic tissue, allowing each half to play independently of the other. Its dental formula, I11, C00, P10, M33 = 18. Incisors very large, curved, with persistent pulp, and enamel only in front, growing up as fast as worn away; canines absent (the last two characters as in the Rodents); long vacuity between incisors and pre-molar; pre-molar much smaller than molars; molars with flat crowns and very indistinct tubercules; milk-teeth agreeing more in number and form with those seen among Lemurs than with the permanent set; the upper jaw having its full set of two incisors, one canine, and a pre-molar tooth present; the lower jaw having one incisor, no canine, and one pre-molar tooth on each side. Dorsal and lumbar vertebræ together 18, sacral 3, and caudal 22-27.

Olfactory lobes of brain covered by the cerebrum; convolutions and grooves of cerebrum similar to those in normal Lemurs. Intestine 26 inches long; no striped tissue in the muscular sheath of the gullet at the anterior end of the stomach. Digastric muscle (for moving the jaws) very much developed in accordance with the great gnawing powers of the species.

Fur on back, flanks, tail, and limbs dark brown, nearly black, but with the white of the basal half of the hairs shining through; hair woolly at base; long hairs on top of head and back of neck tipped with white; short hairs of face dirty white. Nose and lips naked, flesh-coloured; ears black; sides of head and throat greyish-yellow; chest often bright yellow, the chin paler. Inner sides of limbs yellowish-white, and on the under surface of the body the basal part of hairs showing through, producing a pale yellowish-white, or sub-rufous, colour. Feet and digits black. Tail black, at its base greyish-white or greyish-brown, and often with long white hairs throughout. The species is more nearly related to the members of the genus Galago to be described later on, than to any other of the Lemuroidea.

Distribution.—The Aye-Aye is confined to the island of Madagascar. It makes its home in the dense parts of the great forest that runs along the eastern border of its central plateau, but only in that part of it which separates the Sihànaka Province from that of the Betsimisàraka, which is about 25 miles from the east coast, in latitude 17° 22′ S. It is more common than has been supposed, its noctural habits and the superstitious awe with which it is regarded accounting for its apparent rarity, and for the contradictory reports given of its habits.

Habits.—The Aye-Aye, whose name is derived from its call of "hai-hay," is one of the most singular of living animals. It was first discovered by Sonnerat during his travels in Madagascar in 1780, and by him sent to Paris. The skin remained unique in Europe for the best part of a century. Greatly owing to the superstitious dread in which the creature is held by the natives, it was for a long period, and is still, very difficult to procure, or to induce the natives to capture, specimens. Mr. Baron says that it is sometimes accidentally caught in traps by the natives, "but the owner of the trap, unless one of those versed in the Aye-Aye mysteries who know the charm by which to counteract its evil power, smears fat over it, thus securing its forgiveness and goodwill, and sets it free." In 1863 Dr. Sandwith sent a second example to Europe, the anatomy of whose body was made the subject of an exhaustive monograph by the late Sir Richard Owen. Since that date more than one specimen has been received alive, and its habits and constitution are now fairly well known. The Aye-Aye is entirely arboreal and nocturnal, sleeping during the day, with its body coiled round, lying on its side with its bushy tail spread over it as a covering. It suspends itself by its hind-limbs, and in this position it has been observed in captivity by Mr. Bartlett, using its hook-like finger to comb out its tail, to cleanse its face, the corners of its eyes, its nose, mouth, and ears, keeping meanwhile its other fingers closed. It lives in the depths of the forests, going about in pairs. Exquisitely keen of hearing, it can detect by sound the boring of insects within the dead branches of trees. Its attenuated wire-like finger acts as a probe to discover their position, and its powerful incisor teeth are used to cut down upon the tunnel of its prey, which consists principally of the Andraitra, the larva of a Beetle, which it then extracts with the same digit. The juices of plants are also supposed to form part of its food. It drinks after the manner of many Monkeys, by dipping its fingers into the water, and drawing them through its mouth. The Aye-Aye is fearless of Man, but in its wakeful hours, during the night, when irritated it can be very savage and strike out with its hands. The female produces but one young at a birth, and builds, in the fork of a tree, a ball-like nest, two feet in diameter, with an entrance hole in the side, forming it of the rolled up leaves of the Travellers'-tree, and lining it with small twigs and dry leaves. (Baron.)

THE TARSIERS. FAMILY TARSIIDÆ.

This family, like the preceding, has been constituted for the reception of two animals which are so remarkably distinct from all the other species of Lemurs, as to necessitate their being thus segregated. Between these two forms however, so close a relationship exists, that they have often been considered as only varieties of the same species. The family, therefore, consists, as in the Chiromyidæ, of a single genus, the characters of which constitute also those of the family.

THE TARSIERS. GENUS TARSIUS.

Tarsius, Storr. Prod. Method. Mamm., p. 32 (1780).

The Tarsiers are distinguished externally by the possession of a rounded head, and a very short, pointed muzzle; by their very large, long and naked ears, and eyes so remarkably large and protruding, as to form the most prominent feature of the face. The hind-limb, which is much longer than the fore-limb, is also very remarkable on account of the great elongation of the ankle-region (or tarsus) of the limb. The long and slender toes terminate in round, sucker-like discs, and are furnished with flat nails, except on the second and third toes, where the nails are merely compressed claws. The fore-limb, with or without the hand, is longer than the trunk; its digits also are long and slender (the third being longest, and the second equal to the fourth) and, like those of the foot, terminate in round sucker-like discs. Both the wrist and ankle are haired.

The long and Rat-like tail is longer than the body, and has a tufted termination. The skull presents enormous eye-cavities, the inner margins of the latter almost meeting in the centre. The orbits are nearly closed in from the temporal fossa by the union of the malar and alisphenoid bones—a character in which they differ from all other Lemurs, and approach the Anthropoid section of the Primates. Their dental formula is I21, C11, P33, M33 = 34. Of the upper jaw, the incisors are prominent and unequal, the anterior ones being larger than the posterior, and in contact in the middle line, thus leaving no central gap in the front of the jaw, as is the rule among Lemurs; the canines are about as long vertically as the inner incisor, and are smaller than the corresponding tooth in the True Lemurs; the pre-molars are canine-like, sharp, pointed, and furnished with a cingulum; the anterior pre-molar is smaller than the two others; the posterior pre-molar has one external and one internal cusp; the molars, all nearly equal in size, are wide transversely, strongly cingulate, and have two prominent external cusps. In the lower jaw, the solitary incisor in each half is small, and, instead of protruding horizontally, is nearly erect; the canines are also almost erect, and less like incisors than is usual in the Sub-order. The pre-molars are sharp, but the anterior is smaller than the two posterior; the anterior and median molars have four cusps, and are cingulate, while the posterior molar has five cusps.

The Tarsiers have nineteen dorsal and lumbar vertebræ together, and twenty-seven in the tail. The humerus presents a perforation (the entepicondylar foramen) at its lower inner side, and another nearly in the centre above the hinge. The femur is more than twice the length of the arm-bone; the lower half of the slender fibula is co-ossified with the tibia, while two of the tarsal, or ankle-bones (the calcaneum and naviculare), are remarkably elongated, thus giving to the hind-limb of these animals the singular conformation from which they derive their name. The large intestine is not convoluted upon itself as in so many of the Lemurs, nor is there a cæcum at the junction of its smaller and larger portions.

I. THE SPECTRAL TARSIER. TARSIUS TARSIUS.

Lemur tarsius, Erxl., Syst. Regn. Anim., Mamm., p. 71 (1777).

Tarsius spectrum, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 168 (1812); Dahlb., Studia, p. 231, tab. 11.

Lemur spectrum, Pallas, Nova Sp. Glir. Ord., p. 275, note (1778).

(Plate II.)

Characters.—On the upper lip, sides of nostrils, and over the eyes long, delicate black hairs (vibrissæ); hair on nose very short, longer in front of ears and at angles of mouth. Fur of body generally thick, woolly, the basal two thirds slate-grey, the terminal third brownish-yellow. Face to forehead fawn-brown, somewhat darker around and between the enormous liquid brown eyes. Top and back of head and shoulders of a more uniform and darker shade; rest of back apparently mottled, owing to the light-tipped hairs of that region gathering into locks. Under side of body, inside of arms and legs paler. Tail darker brown, rufous at base of upper side. Size not exceeding that of a small Rat.

PLATE II.

THE SPECTRAL TARSIER.

Distribution.—Found only in the jungles of the Malayan islands of Sumatra, Java, Banka, Billiton, and Borneo.

II. THE DUSKY-HANDED TARSIER. TARSIUS FUSCUS.

? Lemur podje, Kerr, Linn. Anim. Kingdom, p. 86 (1792).

Tarsius fuscus, s. fuscomanus, Fischer, Anat. der Maki, pp. 3, 7 (1784).

Tarsius fuscomanus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 168 (1812); Max Weber, Zool. Ergebn. Reis. Nederl. Ost-Indien, iii., p. 264 (1893).

Tarsius fischeri, Burm. Tarsius, pp. 29, 129 (1846).

Characters.—Closely related to the preceding species in size and other characters, but distinguished by the colour of the hands, which are dark brown.

Distribution.—Inhabits the islands of the Indian Archipelago, farther to the eastward than those in which Tarsius Tarsius is found. It has been recorded from Celebes, and the neighbouring groups of Salayer and Sanghir, and from some of the Philippine Islands, such as Bohol and Mindanao.

Habits.—The habits of both species of Tarsier are identical, and may be described together. They are almost entirely nocturnal and arboreal animals, rarely, of their own accord, coming to the ground. They move from place to place by leaping along the larger branches, or from tree to tree, even when these stand several feet distant. When they do descend, however, they advance on the ground by the same curious Frog-like leaps, without bringing their fore-limbs down to the ground. The Tarsier is said to climb easily, even without grasping, by means of the round discs on its slender finger-tips, which, like suckers, enable it to hold on by the side pressure of its limbs to any smooth surface, such as the stems of the bamboo-brakes which it frequents. Mr. Charles Hose, in his "Mammals of Borneo," states that, in that island, the Tarsier is found in the jungles of the low country, skipping about from branch to branch. According to the notes of this excellent field-naturalist, it has a habit of turning its head almost completely round without moving the rest of its body. This very remarkable creature lives in pairs in the tropical forests, in holes in the tree stems, or under their roots, feeding chiefly on insects and small lizards, which, as Mr. Cuming has recorded, it holds by its fore-paws while devouring, sitting up the while on its posterior. In drinking it is also said to lap water like a Cat. The Tarsier seldom makes any kind of noise, but when it does emit a sound, it is a sharp, shrill call. The female produces one, rarely two, young at a birth; these are similar to the parents. They are covered with hair, and have the eyes open. Mr. Hose further states that the mother often carries her young one about in her mouth, after the manner of a Cat. On the second day after its birth, the infant Tarsier can move about by itself. By the natives of Sumatra, and, indeed, of most of the islands inhabited by these animals, the Tarsiers are held in superstitious dread, their presence in the neighbourhood of the rice-fields being supposed to portend misfortune to the owner or to some member of his family.

Their elongated ankle-bones, and their leaping habits, seem to indicate that the Galagos and the Chirogales, or Mouse-Lemurs, are the nearest relatives of the Tarsiers.

THE TYPICAL LEMURS. FAMILY LEMURIDÆ.

Under this family heading are included the whole of the remaining members of the Sub-order. They all possess certain main characters in common; but on account of the presence or absence of certain subordinate features in some of the groups, the family has been further subdivided into four sub-families. The more important characters which they have in common are the thick woolly fur, the Dog- or Fox-like snout and nostrils—a character obviously distinguishing them from the bulk of the Monkeys, in which the nose forms a subsidiary feature, and is not the main part of the face,—and especially the number and form of their teeth. In the centre of the upper jaw there is always a toothless gap, or diastema, on each side of which the teeth are arranged according to the following formula: I22, C11, P33, M33 = 36. Among the Endrinas, however, the formula is I22, C1(1 or 0), P22, M33 = 32 or 30 in number. In the upper jaw the incisors are small and perpendicular; but in the lower, where they are long and narrow, they protrude horizontally in front, and then follow, parallel and close to them, the somewhat thicker canines, the six teeth together forming a comb-like series. The anterior pre-molar is always vertically longer than the others, and assumes the form and function of the canines in other animals.

In some genera (e.g., Propithecus), Milne-Edwards has observed that in the young animal the cerebellum is more overlapped by the cerebrum (or main brain) than it is later in life; and Dr. Major believes that the Lemuridæ are highly specialised members of the Sub-order, developed from ancient types which were not unlike the American Monkeys of the family Cebidæ.

The Typical Lemurs are arranged in the following four sub-divisions: The Pottos and Slow-paced Lemurs (Lorisinæ); the Galagos and Mouse-Lemurs (Galaginæ); the True Lemurs (Lemurinæ); and the Endrinas (Indrisinæ).

THE SLOW-LEMURS. SUB-FAMILY I. LORISINÆ.

This Sub-family has been constituted to receive a small number of Lemurs, which, although occupying limited areas in two widely separated continents—one genus being African and the others Asiatic—present certain characters in common. They are recognised by having soft woolly fur, a triangular head and pointed face, very large and staring eyes, set close together, while their ears are naked along their margin. Their fore- and hind-limbs are nearly equal. In the Asiatic genera the index finger is very small, while in the African it is quite rudimentary and nail-less. In both groups the thumb diverges widely from the other fingers, and the great toe is directed backwards, but the ankle-bones of the foot are not elongated. The tail is either so short as to be quite concealed in the fur, or is less than one-third of the length of the body.

Fig. 6. Front Teeth of Perodicticus, Nycticebus and Loris, after Mivart (P. Z. S., 1864, p. 631).

In the skull the squamosal region with the outer and posterior portion of the ear capsules (the periotic) are inflated. The dental formula of the Slow-Lemurs is the same as given above for the family generally. In the upper jaw, the two incisors are usually equal, but, if unequal, the inner incisor is always the larger (Fig. 6); the vertically long canine, which is separated by a gap from the anterior pre-molar, presents both in front and behind a neck or cingulum, which is cusped behind; the pre-molars are canine-like, and have the cingulum produced behind into a heel (or talon). The anterior of the three is vertically longer than the median, while both the median and posterior have, to the outside, one main cusp with a minute one on each side of it, and two inner cusps; the molars are all cingulate, and have to the outside two main cusps (separated by a minute cusp) and two inner cusps, the outer and inner cusps alternating. Of the anterior and median molars, the two main outside cusps are sub-equal, and are flanked on each side by a minute cusp; the posterior molar is short and wide, and has only one minute cusp in front of its anterior main cusp. Of the lower jaw, the pre-molars are canine-like, the anterior being vertically long and having a posterior heel; the posterior pre-molar, which differs in size from the anterior, presents two main cusps to the outside and one minute cusp in front; the molars, both anterior and median, are four-cusped, with a minute cusp in front, the posterior being five-cusped, while all have their front cusps vertically taller than the hind ones.

Among the Lorisinæ the dorsal and lumbar vertebræ together number from twenty-one to twenty-three. The cæcum, at the junction of the larger and smaller intestine, is long. The main artery of the fore- and hind-limbs breaks up into a rete mirabile of numerous small parallel branches.

The Slow-Lemurs are distributed in the western parts of the African continent, and in the Indian, Malayan and Indo-Chinese portions of the Oriental region. It is a remarkable fact that this group should be confined to one portion of Africa and be entirely absent from Madagascar, the country where the Lemurs form so characteristic a feature in the fauna.

The Lorisinæ embrace three genera, the Pottos (Perodicticus) from the African continent; the Slender Loris (Loris), and the Slow-Loris (Nycticebus), both of which inhabit the Oriental region.

THE POTTOS. GENUS PERODICTICUS.

Perodicticus, Bennett, P. Z. S., 1839, p. 109; Huxley, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 235.

Arctocebus, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 150; Mivart, P.Z.S., 1864, p. 644.

This genus contains two species, both confined to the West Coast of Africa. The Pottos are slender-bodied animals, with oval heads and blunt Dog-shaped muzzles. Their eyes are large and full, and their external ears erect, with shelf-like lamellæ inside. They have slender and sub-equal limbs. The second digit of the fore-limb is rudimentary and nail-less; it is supported on one wrist-bone, and has two phalanges or finger-bones. The great toe is opposable, and the fourth and fifth digits of both limbs are united together by membrane as far as the first joint. The processes of the vertebræ in the neck and back are long and protruding. The tail is very short.

The pre-maxillæ (which carry the incisor teeth) do not project in front, nor does the bony palate extend farther back than the end of the posterior molar teeth. Of the upper teeth the incisors are equal in size (Fig. 6); the median and posterior pre-molars have on their crowns three cusps, of which the two outer are the larger; the anterior and median molars are cingulate, have four-cusped crowns, and are larger than the pre-molars; the posterior is narrow from before backwards, and its crown presents only two or three cusps. Of the lower teeth, the anterior pre-molar is recurved and larger than the canine, with a ridge on its inner face and a cusped heel behind; the median and posterior ones are shorter than their anterior fellow, each having a strong posterior cusped heel; the anterior and median molars have their crowns four-cusped and are nearly equal in length; the crown of the posterior molar is 4-5-cusped, and has a ridge joining its anterior heel to its front outer cusp. Transverse and oblique ridges are well marked on the crowns of both the upper and lower cheek-teeth.

I. THE CALABAR POTTO. PERODICTICUS CALABARENSIS.

Perodicticus calabarensis, Smith, Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc., Edinb., 1860, p. 172, figs. 1, 2.

Arctocebus calabarensis, J. E. Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 150; Huxley, P. Z. S., p. 314, pl. 28 (1864).

Nycticebus calabarensis, Schlegel, Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 287 (1876).

Fig. 7. Hand and Foot of P. calabarensis (after Huxley, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 319).

Characters.—Hair long, wool-like; face, hands, and feet thinly haired. Head 2½ inches long, tapering in front; muzzle prominent and blunt; ears large, pointed, and projecting above the level of the head, with short hairs, two lamellæ inside, and marginal tufts; neck short; hind-limbs slightly larger and longer than the fore-limbs; hands smaller than the feet; thumb thick, with a tubercle at base; the wrist-bone of the very rudimentary index-finger supporting two rudimentary finger-bones; third finger not parallel to fourth and fifth; the fourth longest (Fig. 7). Great toe with a tubercle at its base, opposable. Tail ¼ inch long, hidden in the fur of the body.

Fur grey at base of hairs, fawn-coloured farther up, and tipped with dark brown, uniform over the body and limbs; face darker; sides of head lighter; line from brow down the nose white. No vibrissæ on face and no eyebrows; chin, throat, inner surface of limbs, and under side of body, greyish-white.

Posterior upper molar nearly equal to posterior pre-molar, with the hind inner cusp of the crown rudimentary. Lower incisors not visible beyond the lip, cingulate; posterior molar five-cusped and relatively larger than in the next species (P. potto). Bony palate with large perforations behind the incisors. Intestines, 40 inches long; cæcum, 2½ inches.

Distribution.—The "Angwantibo," as this species is called, is known only from Old Calabar, on the west coast of Africa.

II. BOSMAN'S POTTO, PERODICTICUS POTTO.

Potto, Bosman, Beschrijving van de Guinese Goudkust, ii., p. 32, fig. 4 (1704).

Nycticebus potto, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 165 (1812); Schlegel, Mus. Pays Bas vii., p. 287 (1876).

Perodicticus geoffroyi, Bennett, P. Z. S., 1830, p. 109.

Perodicticus potto, V. der Hoeven, Tijdschr. v. Natuurl. Gesch., xi., p. 41 (1844); Wagner, in Schreber's Säugeth. Suppl., v., p. 183 (1855).

Stenops potto, Pel, Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde, 1852, p. 41.

Characters.—More common than the Angwantibo and distinguished from it by its rounder, shorter, and wider head, less produced muzzle, smaller mouth, and eyes farther apart; ears shorter, rounder, and directed more backwards, with one lamella on the inner surface. Hands longer, flat and thin; index-finger not so reduced as in P. calabarensis. Tail very short, little more than an inch long, but visible beyond the fur. Length of body, 8 inches.

Upper pre-molars less canine-like than in the preceding species; posterior upper molar differing in size from and set farther out than the others, short and wide, with the crown elliptical and only two-cusped, the two hind-cusps wanting. Lower incisors more prominent and projecting than in P. calabarensis; crown of posterior lower molar four-cusped.

Adult.—Upper surface rich reddish-brown with a black dorsal stripe widening opposite the shoulders, and fading out towards the tail; under side yellowish or reddish-white. Hair on face shorter and paler, with a dark ring round the eyes.

Young.—Reddish-brown all over, redder on the back of the head and neck, darker on the shoulders; creamy-white, washed with rufous, beneath.

Fur silver-grey at the base of the hairs, with reddish-brown tips in younger, and dark golden-brown in older, individuals.

Distribution.—The Potto is one of the oldest known members of the Lemuroid group, having been described in 1704 by Bosman, who met with it on his voyage to Guinea. It was, however, lost sight of until 1825, when it was rediscovered in Sierra Leone and fully described by Bennett in 1830. It is known also from Gaboon.

Habits.—Both species of Potto are nocturnal and arboreal, and are exceedingly slow in their movements. In catching insects or flies, which form part of their food, they proceed with extraordinary deliberation, never quickening their movements, and yet rarely, if ever, missing their prey.

Bosman in his description of the Gold Coast of Guinea, gives a woodcut of the Potto, which, he says, is a "Draught of a Creature, by the Negroes called Potto, but known to us by the Name of Sluggard, doubtless from its lazy, sluggish Nature; a whole day being little enough for it to advance ten Steps forward.

"Some Writers affirm, that when this Creature has climbed upon a Tree, he doth not leave it until he hath eaten up not only the Fruit, but the leaves intirely; and then descends fat and in very good case in order to get up into another Tree; but before his slow pace can compass this, he becomes as poor and lean as 'tis possible to imagine: And if the trees be high, or the way anything distant, and he meets with nothing on his journey, he inevitably dies of Hunger, betwixt one tree and the other. Thus 'tis represented by others, but I will not undertake for the Truth of it; though the Negroes are apt to believe something like it.

"This is such a horrible ugly Creature that I don't believe anything besides so very disagreeable is to be found on the whole Earth; the Print is a very lively Description of it: Its Fore-feet are very like Hands, the Head strangely disproportionately large; that from whence this Print was taken was of a pale Mouse colour: but it was then very young, and his Skin yet smooth, but when old, as I saw one at Elmina in the year 1699, 'tis red and covered with a sort of Hair as thick set as Flocks of Wool. I know nothing more of this Animal, than that 'tis impossible to look on him without Horrour, and that he hath nothing very particular but his odious Ugliness."

THE SLENDER LORIS. GENUS LORIS.

Loris, Geoffr., Mag. Encycl., Ann. 2, i., p. 48 (1796).

Stenops, Illiger, Prodr., p. 73 (1811).

As this genus contains only a solitary species, its characters are necessarily those of the species.

I. THE SLENDER LORIS. LORIS GRACILIS.

Loris gracilis, Geoffr., Magas. Encycl. Ann. 4, i., p. 48 (1796); id. Catal., p. 37, no. 1 (1803); id. Ann. Mus., xix., p. 163 (1812); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 79 (1851); Blyth, Cat. Mamm. As. Soc., p. 19 (1863); Anderson, Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus., p. 97 (1881); Blanf., Faun. Brit. Ind. Mamm., p. 47 (1888).

Nycticebus gracilis, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 70 (1829); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 284 (1876).

Stenops tardigradus, Illiger, Prodr. Syst. Mamm., p. 73 (1811, pt.).

Stenops gracilis, Van der Hoeven, Tijdschr., Nat. Ges., xi., p. 39 (1844); Kelaart, Prod. Fauna Zeyl., p. 9 (1852).

Characters.—A slender-bodied animal covered with close, soft, and woolly fur. Head short and round; eyes very large; nose narrow and much pointed; ears small and haired externally; tips nude. Limbs long, remarkably slender and angularly bent; hands and feet covered with short hair; index-finger with three phalanges and finger-bones.

Skull with eye-sockets closely approximating, in the centre separated only by a thin plate of bone; nasal and premaxillary bones prolonged forward to support the narrow pointed nose; cranium, along its base to end of nasal bones, two inches long, broader across the orbits than behind in front of the articulation of lower jaw; bony palate extending back beyond the posterior molar tooth. In the upper jaw the incisors are small and equal (Fig. 6); posterior pre-molar similar to, but smaller than the anterior molar; anterior molar with the oblique ridge on crown well developed; crown of posterior molar four-cusped, that of the posterior lower molar five-cusped. Dorsal and lumbar vertebræ together, 23; caudal vertebræ, 6-8.

The alimentary canal is four times the length of the body.

Adult.—Dingy grey above, darker on back, paler on lower back; the hairs tipped with white. Sides of body, outside of fore- and hind-limbs dingy white, with a faint rufous wash on the outside of the hind-limbs. Face and ring round eyes dark greyish-brown; streak along nose white, branching on forehead above the eyes on each side into a broad ring encircling the dark ocular ring; this frontal branch sometimes absent. Under side greyish-white. Hairs of fur greyish-white at base, dark in the middle, and tipped with white. Length, 8 inches.

Young.—More rust-coloured than the adult.

Distribution.—The Slender Loris is common in the lower forests of Ceylon and of Southern India, south of the Godaveri river, as well as in those of the Eastern Ghats.

Habits.—This curious, emaciated-looking, little creature is nocturnal, living entirely in trees. It sleeps during the day rolled up in a ball, with its head between its legs, grasping its perch with its hands. According to Jerdon these animals are occasionally brought in large numbers to the Madras market, their eyes being a favourite remedy of the Tamil doctors for ophthalmic diseases.

In its movements it is slightly more active than the Slow-Loris. Its food consists of succulent leaves, honey, insects, birds' eggs, and small animals.

PLATE III.

THE JAVAN SLOW-LORIS.

THE SLOW-LORIS. GENUS NYCTICEBUS.

Nycticebus, Geoffr., Ann. du Mus., xix., p. 162 (1812).

Stenops (nec Illiger), Van der Hoeven, Tijdsch. Nat. Ges., xi., p. 39 (1844).

Bradycebus, Cuv. et Geoffr., Mém. Class. Mamm. (1795).

This genus, like the last, is represented by a single species, and its characters, therefore, are detailed below.

I. THE JAVAN SLOW-LORIS. NYCTICEBUS TARDIGRADUS.

Lemur tardigradus, Linn., S. N., i., p. 44 (1766, pt.).

Nycticebus bengalensis, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 164 (1812).

Nycticebus javanicus, Geoffr., t. c. p. 164 (1812); id. Cat. Primates, p. 78 (1851); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 286 (1876).

Nycticebus tardigradus, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 71, no. 2 (1829); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 78 (1851); Blyth, Cat. Mam. As. Soc., p. 18 (1863); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 285 (1876); Anderson, Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus., p. 94 (1881); Blanf., Faun. Brit. Ind. Mamm., p. 44 (1888).

Stenops tardigradus, Van der Hoeven, Tijdschr. Nat. Ges., xi., p. 39 (1844); Wagner in Schreb., Säug. Suppl., v., p. 151 (1855).

Stenops javanicus, Van der Hoeven, op. cit., p. 40 (1844); Wagner, op. cit., p. 152 (1855).

Nycticebus cinereus, Milne-Edw., Ann. Mus., vii., p. 161 (1867); id. N. Arch. Mus., iii., p. 9, pl. 3 (1867); Anderson, Rep. Zool., Yun-nan, p. 103 (1879); Schl., Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 286 (1876).

Lemur menagensis, Nachtrieb, Zool. Anz., xv., p. 147 (1892).

(Plate III.)

Characters.—Body larger and fuller than in Loris, and covered with close and woolly fur. Head short and round. Eyes large, set close together, and having a gentle expression; face short and flat; muzzle less projecting than in Loris; ears small, rounded, hairy, and nearly buried in the fur; neck short; tail invisible externally. Limbs short; index-finger small, containing three bones; toes remaining spontaneously contracted after death. Top of skull with prominent crests, globular behind; facial bones conspicuously projecting in front; orbits large, their inner margins separated from each other by a narrow flat space. Pre-maxillæ not produced far in front; hind border of bony palate not extending backwards beyond the median molar. Of the upper teeth, the inner incisor larger than the outer, one often absent on each side; canine vertically very long, with a gap between it and the anterior pre-molar; anterior pre-molar elongate, the posterior differing considerably from the anterior molar, and having a short cusped heel behind; posterior molar with a three-cusped crown. Teeth of lower jaw agreeing with those in the diagnosis of the family (suprà, p. [24]). Vertebræ in dorsal and lumbar regions together 23 or 24. The long flexor muscle of the thumb, so characteristic of the Anthropoid Apes, is present in Nycticebus. The interlacement of the tendons of the muscles of its foot (according to Huxley and Murie) closely resembles the arrangement in the higher Primates. The long flexor muscle of the toes (flexor longus digitorum) is very large, and has one important origin on the lower end (internal condyle) of the thigh-bone correlated with the powerful grasp of its hind-limbs. The female bears one young at a birth.

Above, ashy-grey, rather paler below; more or less silvery on the back, often rufescent on the rump, with the hairs dark ashy at the roots; dorsal stripe from crown to loins chestnut brown; circle round the eyes dark brown; a white line down the nose between the eyes; oral patch, including the ears, brown.

The Slow-Loris varies greatly in size and colour in the different regions it inhabits, and its varieties have been recognised by many naturalists as distinct species.

Every shade of colour occurs among specimens from different habitats. The colour varies between rufescent grey, or greyish-rufous, or white (with a brown tinge showing through from below) and silvery grey. The dorsal stripe varies from rufous to dull grey or even black, expanding out, or not, on the crown of the head, arms, and cheeks, bifurcating to the orbital rings and ear-patches, or to one or other only. Sometimes the dorsal stripe and face-markings are wanting altogether. Under side varying from pale rufescent grey to light rufous or dull grey. Length of head and body varying from 12¾ to 16 inches.

"It is an interesting fact," observes St. George Mivart, "that as far as concerns the skull and dentition, the Asiatic Nycticebus far more resembles the African Perodicticus than it does its Oriental neighbour Loris."

Distribution.—The Slow-Loris has a comparatively wide and interrupted range. It is common in the dense mountain forests of Assam and Burma (where it has received the distinctive appellation of N. bengalensis), as well as in Tenasserim and the Malayan Peninsula. It has also been obtained in Siam and Cochin-China, whence it has been described as a distinct species (N. cinereus), from its silvery-grey fur; while it also occurs—somewhat reduced in size—and often (but not invariably) without the upper incisor teeth—in the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo with its surrounding islet groups, as well as in the Philippine Islands. The form from the last-named localities (figured on Plate III.) has generally been recognised as N. javanicus; but, from a careful examination of the material in the British Museum, it appears to the present writer that the specimens from all these localities merge so insensibly into each other that it is impossible to separate them into distinct species. The Slow-Loris, though occurring on the north-eastern frontier of India, has not yet been discovered in the Himalayas.

Habits.—Like the Slender Loris, the Slow-Loris is arboreal and nocturnal, hardly differing in its food and general habits from the latter. It lives alone or in pairs, and moves about very slowly, with its head curiously drawn up close to its body, with the latter arched and its limbs very angularly disposed. Colonel Tickell has observed it, however, to raise itself on its hind-legs and throw itself upon an insect. It is generally silent, but can utter a low growl when angry. In captivity it becomes docile, but is never very long-lived. Tickell records that "it never by choice leaves the trees.... It climbs readily and grasps with great tenacity. If placed on the ground, it proceeds, if frightened, in a wavering kind of trot, the limbs placed at right angles. It sleeps rolled up in a ball, its head and hands buried between its thighs, and wakes up in the dusk of the evening to commence its nocturnal rambles." Another observer records: "When he climbs he first lays hold of the branch with one of his hands and then with the other. When he has obtained a firm hold with both hands, he moves one of his hind-paws, and after firmly grasping the branch with it, he moves the other. He never quits his hold with his hind-paws until he has obtained a secure grasp with his hands." The remarkable tenacity of grasp in its feet is largely due to the automatic action of the flexor muscles of the toes (the digits continuing flexed even after death), and the mere extension of the leg largely contributes to the "effortless suspension of the body" (Murie), as in the Fruit-Bats and other species which hang passively by their hind-limbs. (Huxley.)

Dr. Coghlan, speaking of the Chinese race (N. cinereus), says: "They make a curious chattering noise when angry, and when pleased at night they utter a short though tuneful whistle of one unvaried note; this whistle is thought by Chinese sailors, who take them to sea, to denote the coming of wind.... Their intelligence seems to be much below that of the Monkey.... The Slow-Loris, when newly-born, is about four inches long, and covered with fur; it holds on by its four hands to the mother's fur, and in that attitude sucks the milk from its parent's breast."

THE GALAGOS. SUB-FAMILY II. GALAGINÆ.

The Lemurs comprised in the present Sub-family are divisible into two groups—those inhabiting the mainland of Africa and those confined to the island of Madagascar. The exclusively African species, the True Galagos, constitute the single genus Galago; while the Malagasy group is represented by three genera, the so-called Fat-tailed Lemurs (Opolemur), the Dwarf-Lemurs (Microcebus), and the Mouse-Lemurs (Chirogale). The members of this Sub-family vary considerably in size, and are all covered with soft woolly fur. Their ears especially are largely developed, being more or less membranaceous and naked, and their sense of hearing very acute. The eyes are large and the tail always elongated. In the skull the length of the muzzle is less that the greatest longitudinal diameter of the orbit (except in the genus Galago). Their teeth number 36—18 above and 18 below—as in the bulk of the Lemuridæ; the upper molars present on their crown an oblique ridge from the outer hind cusp to the inner front cusp. The ankle region (tarsus) of the hind-limb is much elongated, through the lengthening of two of its bones (the calcaneum and naviculare): this feature occurring to a greater extent among the African than among the Malagasy species. The mammæ are four in number, two on the breast and two on the abdomen.

Many of the species hibernate during the dry winter season, and to enable them to survive, they accumulate during the summer months a thick deposit of fat over their bodies, more especially at the root of the tail, a fact first conspicuously observed in the Opolemurids. This fat is absorbed for their sustenance during their prolonged torpidity.

THE AFRICAN GALAGOS. GENUS GALAGO.

Galago, Geoffr., Mag. Encycl., Ann. 2, i., p. 49 (1796).

The African Galagos are generally larger in size than the Madagascar members of the group, and have the snout produced beyond the lower jaw. Their ears are large, membranaceous, and have a very mobile contractile hinder edge, the animal having the power of folding them up at will. The eyes are also large and approximated; the fingers and toes very long and slender, and the tail thick and bushy.

The skull presents a high, broad, and round brain-case, with a relatively short facial region. The pre-maxillary bones are very much reduced, so that the muzzle, measured from the anterior margin of the orbit forward, is shorter than the longitudinal diameter of the orbits. The bony palate is also relatively short. Compared with those of the Madagascar genera the orbits are, according to Dr. Forsyth Major, much broader vertically and horizontally in the genus Galago. The squamosal region of the skull and the outer portion of the ear-capsules (the periotic) are large and inflated. The mandible (or lower jaw) has its lower hind edge, or angle, produced backward.

The dentition of the Galagos presents several important characters. In respect to their upper teeth, the incisors are small, equal, and have a hind cusp on the cingulum. A distinct gap exists between the canine and the pre-molar teeth. Of the pre-molars, the anterior one is canine-like, and is equally distant from the canine and its own next neighbour. To the outside it has one main cusp, and generally one minute supplementary cusp on each side. The median pre-molar shows three cusps, and one strong inner front cusp. The posterior pre-molar is always molar-like. It has one front supplementary and two main cusps to the outside; and one front and one supplementary hind cusp to the inside: it has also on the crown the oblique ridge spoken of above.

The molars have a deep concavity on their hind border, due to the development of the cingulum on the inner half only of that border of the tooth; to the outside they present two main cusps (and often supplementary minute fore and hind cusps); while to the inside they present two cusps, and also an intermediate cusp in front between the two fore cusps; the oblique ridge is also here present; the hindmost molar is three-cusped. The five hind molars are, therefore, nearly equal in size. In the lower jaw the pre-molars are complicated. The anterior and median are canine-like and procumbent, with a cusped heel behind; the posterior is distinguished from a molar only by the lesser size of its fore-part. The molars are also complicated; the anterior and median are equal in size and four-cusped—the two front cusps (united by a ridge) are taller than the two hind ones, and there is a minute cusp between the two hind cusps. The posterior molar, though smaller than the others, is five-cusped. The oblique ridge is not present in the lower molars.

The brain of the Galagos is narrower and shallower than that in the Lemurinæ.

The female gives birth to two or three young at a time.

According to Dr. Forsyth Major, who has made the Lemuroidea a special study, the smaller African Galagos have departed less from the primitive Lemuroid type than the Madagascar genera, in which greater specialisation has taken place.

The members of the genus Galago are widely distributed on the African continent, but are unknown in Madagascar. They range throughout the dense forest regions, from Abyssinia in the north-east, to Senegambia in the west, and southward as far as Natal and Mozambique.

Almost all the Galagos are nocturnal. They are chiefly arboreal, and when they descend to the ground they advance by hops on their long hind-limbs. They feed chiefly on fruits, insects, birds, and birds' eggs.

I. GARNETT'S GALAGO. GALAGO GARNETTI.

Otolicnus garnettii, Ogilby, P. Z. S., 1838, p. 6.

Otolemur agisymbianus, Coquerel, Rev. et Mag. de Zool., 1859, p. 457.

Otogale garnettii, J. E. Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 140.

Galago garnettii, Sclater, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 711, pl. xi. Schlegel, Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 429 (1876).

Characters.—Head round; snout elongate, protruding over the lower jaw; ears very long, wide and rounded; eyes large and approximated. Toes and fingers not united by a membrane. Posterior upper molar with its fourth cusp little developed; the posterior lower molar four-cusped.

Fur woolly, the basal part of the hair Mouse-grey, the tips dull yellowish-white. Ears greyish-black; face from the middle of crown along the nose and round the eyes greyish-white. Top of head and neck dark pepper-grey; rest of upper side yellowish-grey, with longer black hairs distributed over the body; outside of arms and legs washed faintly with faded rufous. Under side and inner side of arms and legs greyish-white. Tail brownish-red at base, darker at tip. Length, 8 inches; tail, 8¾ inches.

Distribution.—East coast of Africa.

Habits.—Garnett's Galago is essentially nocturnal in its habits, feeding on fruits. According to Mr. Bartlett, it exhibited in confinement no fear of Cats or Dogs, and was very sprightly and tricky. It kills all it can pounce upon and overpower. On the ground it jumps upright, like a Kangaroo, on its hind-limbs, without using its fore feet, covering several feet at a spring.

II. THE SENEGAL GALAGO. GALAGO SENEGALENSIS.

Galago du Sénégal, Geoffr., Mag. Encycl. Ann. 4^e, p. 1 (1796).

Galago senegalensis, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 166 (1812); Is. Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 81 (1851); Schlegel, Mus. Pays Bas, vii., p. 329 (1876).

Galagoides senegalensis, Smith, S. Afr. Q. Journ., ii., pt. 1, p. 32 (1833).

Galago moholi, Smith, Ill. Zool. S. Afr. Mamm., pls. 8, 8 bis (1839); Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 147.

Otolicnus galago, Wagner in Schreber's Säug. Suppl., i., p. 292 (1840); Van der Hoeven, Tijdschr. Nat. Ges., xi., p. 41 (1844).

Otolicnus senegalensis, Peters, Reis Mozamb. Säug., p. 11 (1852).

Galago senaariensis, J. E. Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 147, Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 647.

Galago (Otolicnus) moholi, Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 647.

Characters.—Body slender; head broad and sub-globular; nose high and pointed; ears large, bare, and with narrow rounded tips; hind-limbs longer than the fore-; tail with longer hair at tip. Fur very thick and soft on body and tail. Upper side pinkish-grey, or faded white with a slight wash of pink; back, sides of body, and outer surface of limbs pearly to yellowish-white; sometimes a dark ring round the eyes; a streak down the nose white or yellowish-white; ears flesh-coloured, sprinkled with pure white down; head, face, whole of under sides and inner sides of limbs white, yellowish, or whitish-buff; tail yellowish or reddish brown, darker at tip, lighter beneath; upper surface of hands and feet white, washed with yellow. Length of body, 7-8½ inches; tail of about the same length. The male and female are of the same size and of the same colour, but the male is somewhat more washed with yellow. Muzzle shorter than the diameter of the eye-socket; the bony palate not extending past the hinder end of the median molar. Anterior and median upper molars slightly larger than the posterior pre-molar; the latter as well as the two anterior molars with a small cusp between the two front cusps.

Distribution.—This beautiful little Lemur was first recorded from Senegal, in West Africa. It occurs, however, from about 25° S. lat. in South Africa northwards to Tete on the Zambesi, through the mountainous regions of East Africa, on the shores of Lake Nyasa, to as far north as Senaar.

PLATE IV.

ALLEN'S GALAGO.

Habits.—The Senegal Galago is nocturnal and arboreal, occurring in the forests singly or in pairs. It makes a nest of leaves in the fork of a tree, and during its diurnal rest it either retreats thither, or composes itself on a branch, unwilling to move, and staring at passers-by, with its tail invariably folded across its body and round its neck. After sunset, these Galagos become lively, and in their movements they evince great activity; they spring from branch to branch, and even from tree to tree, with extraordinary facility (as both Sir Andrew Smith and Sir John Kirk have recorded), often clearing at single leaps distances of six feet. When seen in the dim light they may easily be taken for Bats. "They always seize with one of their fore feet the branch upon which they intend to rest. In their manners they manifest considerable resemblance to Monkeys, particularly in their propensity to the practice of ridiculous grimaces." (Sir A. Smith.) In this habit they resemble also some species of the genus Lemur. Their food consists chiefly of fruits and of insects. The female produces generally two young at a birth.

III. ALLEN'S GALAGO. GALAGO ALLENI.

Galago allenii, Waterh., P. Z. S., 1837, p. 87; Sclater, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 375, pl. xxxii.

Galago allenii, var. gabonensis, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 146.

Galago gabonensis, Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 630.

Galago (Otolicnus) allenii, Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 647.

Otogale pallida, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 140, pl. xix.

Otolicnus apicalis, du Chaillu, Equat. Africa, App., p. 471.

Galago elegantulus, Slack, Proc. Ac. Sc. Phil., 1861, p. 153.

(Plate IV.)

Characters.—Head round; muzzle pointed; eyes very large; ears also very large, long, nude, and membranaceous; fingers and toes very long, slender, and fine. Tail thick, round, and longer than the body; ankle-bones elongated. Length of body, 8¼ inches; tail, 10 inches. Head brownish-grey; a narrow black ring round the eyes; a streak from the forehead down the nose whitish; back greyish-brown, washed (sometimes markedly) with rufous on the upper back, fading out towards the root of the tail; the latter black or greyish-black. Outside of arms and legs washed with rufous, sometimes with a white spot on the shoulder-joint and over the groin; posterior aspect of legs sooty-black; cheeks, sides of nose, entire under surface, and inner side of limbs creamy-white with a rufous-washed bar across the chest. Muzzle shorter than the diameter of eye-socket. Incisors seen from the side, more or less hidden by the canines; anterior upper pre-molar very canine-like, relatively much produced longitudinally, with an interval between the anterior and median pre-molars; posterior upper pre-molar four-cusped, and with an intermediate cusp on the oblique ridge; posterior upper molar almost equal in size to the median one.

Distribution.—This species has been recorded from the Gaboon, in West Africa, and from Fernando Po, whence it was first obtained by Captain Allen, R.N., in 1837.

Habits.—Although little or nothing has been recorded of its habits, it is unlikely that they differ much from those of the species already known.

IV. DEMIDOFF'S GALAGO. GALAGO DEMIDOFFI.

Galago demidoffi, Fischer, Act. Soc. des Nat. Mosc., i., p. 24, f. 1 (1806); Peters, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 380, pl. xxxv.; Mivart, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 648.

Otolicnus peli, Temm., Esquis. Zool. Mamm., p. 42 (1853).

Otolicnus demidoffi, Wagner in Schreb., Säugeth. Suppl., v., p. 160 (1855).

Hemigalago demidoffi, Dahlb., Stud. Zool., p. 230 (1856).

Galago murinus, Murray, Edinb. Phil. Journ. (n.s.), x., pp. 243-251, pl. 11 (1859).

Characters.—Head round; body short and thick; snout very narrow; long bristles on the face, corners of the eyes, and sides of the nose; ears long, oval, membranaceous, transparent, the inner margin haired; eyes large and projecting; nose elongated in front, and projecting above the upper lip; fingers slender; wrist, ankle, hands and feet short-haired; digits naked; tail longer than body, round and slender. Length, 5 inches; tail, 8 inches.

Basal part of hair Mouse-grey. Upper side reddish-brown, more rufous down the back, and on the tail, except its distal half, which is darker. Top of head and sides of face darker; a narrow white streak from the brow down the nose; ring round the eyes dark, wider on the inner side; chin, throat, inner side of limbs, and under surface of body creamy-white. In the young, which remains blind for several days after birth, the white nose-streak is less defined, and the fur is shorter and lighter than that of the parents.

Orbits approximating; front bones of jaw (the pre-maxillæ) projecting beyond the incisors; upper median pre-molar teeth with enlarged heel, and with one or two diminutive cusps; upper molars with a small cusp on the oblique ridge; wrist-bones elongated.

Distribution.—Demidoff's Galago occurs in Senegal, in West Africa, and has been obtained in Central Africa in the Niam-Niam country by Dr. Schweinfurth, and in the Monbuttu country by the late Emin Pasha.

Habits.—Writing of Demidoff's Galago in a letter from Africa addressed to Mr. A. Murray, Mr. Thomson says: "It was a most interesting and amusing pet, not only quite tame, but manifesting strong attachment. It was a very epitome of zoology, of the size and colour of a large Rat; it had the tail of a Squirrel, the facial outline of the Fox, the membranous ears of the Bat, the eyes and somewhat of the manners of the Owl in its cool odd way of peering at objects, the long slender fingers of a lean old man who habitually eats down his nails, and all the mirthfulness and agility of a diminutive Monkey. It hated its cage at night, but delighted to leap among the bars of the chairs ranged purposely round the table for it. It could clear a horizontal distance of at least six feet at a bound.... It possessed a curious power of folding its membranous ears back upon themselves and somewhat corrugating them at pleasure; and it appeared to me that the palms of its hands and feet were endowed in some degree with the power of suction.... I have seen it maintain itself in positions where the mere lateral pressure of its limbs appeared to be inadequate for the purpose.... I never saw it muster courage enough to attack either a Grasshopper or a Mantis."...

V. MONTEIRO'S GALAGO. GALAGO MONTEIRI.

Galago monteiri, Bartlett, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 231, pl. xxviii.

Callotus monteiri, Gray, P. Z. S., 1863, p. 145.

Characters.—Fur Mouse-grey at base, with white tips; pupils of eyes oval and vertical; ears very large and naked; hairs on face and cheeks short; feet broad, short, and strong; toes broad, with rounded discs; thumb very broad; tail very long. Entirely pale grey over the head, face, cheeks, body, and tail; throat nearly white; hands and feet dark brown, nearly black; nose black; ears nearly black. One of the largest species of the Sub-family. Length, 12 inches; tail, 16 inches long.

Distribution.—This species was discovered by Mr. Monteiro in Cuio Bay on the West Coast of Africa, to the south of Loanda; and the late Captain Cameron, R.N., brought a few specimens home with him from Bailunda, on his return from his celebrated march across the Continent.

Habits.—Little is known of this species from observation in the field. A few specimens have reached Europe, and on one that lived in the Zoological Gardens in London, Mr. Bartlett made the following observation: "The animal has the power of turning its ears back by the complex muscles of their external aspect, and folding them up when at rest. When moving about or in search of food they spread out and stand upward and forward, reminding one of those of the Aye-Aye; but when folded back and down, the animal's face bears a strong resemblance to the Douroucouli (Nyctipithecus)."

VI. THE GREAT GALAGO. GALAGO CRASSICAUDATA.

Galago crassicaudatus, Geoffr., Ann. Mus., xix., p. 166 (1812).

Otolicnus crassicaudatus, Peters, Reis, Mossamb. Saügeth., t. 2, t. 4, figs. 1-5.

Otogale crassicaudata, var. kirkii, Gray, P. Z. S., 1864, p. 456.

? Galago lasiotis, Peters, S. B. Ges., Nat. Fr. Berl., 1892, p. 224.

Characters.—Hair long and woolly. Head round; muzzle more elongated than in other Galagos; nose-pad with a deep furrow; eyes large; ears large, the upper half membranaceous and nude; tail long, thick and bushy; fourth digit of hand and foot longest; fingers and toes not united by a membrane, but with flat disc-like terminations.

Hair Mouse-grey at base, silver-grey at tips; the hair on the belly white tipped, sometimes entirely white; hairs on back longer and with black tips. General colour yellowish-brown, with a lighter band from the forehead along the centre of the nose and round the eye-circles, which are darker. Iris reddish-brown. Top of head rusty-brown; back grey; sides of body, cheeks, and outer side of limbs grey, faintly washed with rusty-red; whole under side grey or yellowish-white. Tail ferruginous; hands and feet deep rufous-brown; short hairs of digits blackish-brown. Length, 13 inches; tail, 16 inches. The female has the pelage similar to that of the male.

The coast form, which has been described as Kirk's Galago (G. kirkii), is only a variety of the present species. In it the fur is pale ashy-grey; the hairs at the base Mouse-grey, tipped with grey, with longer black hairs distributed over the body; cheeks, inner sides of limbs, and under side greyish-white; face, crown, and nape washed with reddish-brown, which extends on the outer side of the limbs; lower back more lightly washed; tail, dirty grey.

Distribution.—The Great Galago is found on the south-east coast of Africa to 24° S lat., and extends into the interior for about 140 miles from Quilimane. Kirk's Galago (G. crassicaudata, var. kirkii) is confined to the maritime regions and mangrove forests of the east coast. Sir John Kirk states that it has been observed at the Luabo mouth of the Zambesi, at Quilimane, and at Mozambique. It has also been procured at Taveita.

Habits.—This species, named by the Portuguese "Rat of the Cocoanut Palm," nestles by day among the palm fronds, its ears folded up like a Beetle's wing, and, if disturbed, it performs feats of agility, darting from one palm to another. "It will spring with great rapidity," says Sir John Kirk, "adhering to any object as if it were a lump of wet clay. It has one failing,—should a pot of palm-wine be left on the top of the tree the creature drinks to excess, comes down and rushes about intoxicated," and can then be easily caught. "It becomes active just after darkness sets in. The rapidity and length of its leaps, which were absolutely noiseless, must give great facilities to its capturing live prey. I never knew it give a loud call, but it would often make a low chattering noise."

THE MOUSE-LEMURS. GENUS CHIROGALE.

Cheirogaleus, Geoffr., Ann. du Mus., xix., p. 171 (1812).

Chirogale, Forsyth Major, Nov. Zool., i., p. 1 (1894).

In this genus are included a group of Lemurs of very small dimensions, and of which the following are the more important characters: The rounded head has a short face covered with fur. The eyes are very large and set close together, agreeing well with their nocturnal life. The ears are conspicuous, projecting beyond the fur, thin, and membranaceous. The hind-limbs are larger than the fore-, the foot being remarkably elongated by the lengthening of the heel-bone (Astragalus). The nail of the second finger is pointed, but all the rest are flat. The length of the tail exceeds that of the body. In some the orbits are directed outwards instead of directly forwards as is generally the case among the members of the Sub-order. Of the teeth in the upper jaw, the inner incisors are larger than the outer; the anterior pre-molar is as long vertically as its median neighbour; while the posterior, which is smaller than the anterior molar, has one internal and one large external cusp. Of the molars, the inner hind cusp is either small or wanting. The bony palate is long, its hind margin extending behind the posterior molar. The pre-maxillary bones, carrying the incisor teeth, are largely developed. The mastoid portion of the ear-capsules (periotic) is not inflated as in many species of Lemurs. Several of the species of this genus remain somnolent and torpid throughout the dry season, in regions where it is then impossible to obtain the vegetable food they require. The Mouse-Lemurs are confined to the island of Madagascar.

I. MILIUS' MOUSE-LEMUR. CHIROGALE MILII.

Cheirogaleus milii, Geoffr., Cours de l'Hist. Nat., Mamm., ii^e. leçon, p. 24 (1829).

Cheirogaleus typicus, A. Smith, S. Afr. Q. Journ., ii., p. 56 (1833).

Chirogale milii, Forsyth Major, Nov. Zool., vol. i., p. 21 (1894), Taf. ii., figs. 1, 8, 9 (with full synonymy).

Characters.—Snout pointed; eyes prominent; ears moderately large, oval, membranaceous, and sparsely-haired externally; tail Rat-like, thick at base, becoming thinner towards its extremity. Brain-case of skull less vaulted than in the true Lemurs. Bony palate prolonged behind the posterior molar, its hind perforations large; mastoid portion of ear-capsule (periotic) not swollen. No gap in upper jaw between the canines and anterior pre-molar teeth; anterior upper pre-molar canine-like, and longer than the median; no gap between the anterior and median pre-molars; posterior lower molar reduced in size. The anterior milk pre-molar changes first, the posterior next, and median last. The posterior upper milk-molar has one inner and two outer cusps. (Forsyth Major.) Heel-bone elongated.

General colour varying considerably; top of head, neck, and upper part of back, brownish-grey or uniform delicate fawn-brown, sometimes "grizzled with silvery-grey" or washed with rufous, more especially on the head; rest of back, sides, outer sides of limbs and tail ashy-brown; under side and inner side of limbs greyish-white, or white slightly washed with yellowish. Ring round orbits and side of nose, black; space between the eyes lighter than the back of the head. Length, 7-8 inches. The young are dark Mouse-grey.

Distribution.—Milius' Mouse-Lemur, though a rare species, is widely distributed in Madagascar, being found in the Ankay Forest on the north-east coast as well as along the west coast as far south as Mouroundava.

Habits.—This beautiful little Lemur, no bigger than a Guinea-pig, is, like most of the other species of its group, nocturnal and arboreal, feeding on fruits and probably honey. It runs on all fours, but sits up to eat, holding its food in its hands. In the winter months it is believed to hibernate in hollow trees. Having scooped out a cavity big enough to contain its body, the little animal collects, according to the Rev. G. A. Shaw, sufficient loose leaves and grass to cover it; it then retires, and, burying itself in the heap, is sustained during its period of hibernation by the store of fat which, during the summer months, becomes deposited at the root of the tail, and swells the latter out to an enormous size.

II. THE BLACK-EARED MOUSE-LEMUR. CHIROGALE MELANOTIS.

Cheirogaleus typicus (nec Smith), Gray, Cat. Monkeys, Brit. Mus. App., p. 133 (1870); id. P. Z. S., 1872, p. 855 (partim), pl. lxxi., fig. 3.

Chirogale melanotis, Forsyth Major, Nov. Zool., vol. i., p. 25, Tab. ii., fig. 10 (1894).

(Plate V.)

Characters.—Very similar to C. milii, but distinguished by the far less woolly and more silky fur; face pointed; ears rounded, somewhat large, the outside and half the inside haired; lips flesh-colour. Upper side rather light brownish (almost reddish) grey; upper side of tail darker; tips of hair silvery, but less so than in C. milii. No white stripe between the eyes as in that species, the space not lighter than the top of the head and back; ears very dark brown; a dark brown ring round the eyes; a white stripe along the side of the neck. Under side of body and inner side of limbs greyish-white. Length, 10½ inches; tail, 9 inches. Skull smaller in all its dimensions than C. milii; the face longer and more tapering; the nasal bones broader before and behind; the posterior perforations in the palate large, as in C. milii; mandible less spread; the inner cusp of the anterior upper pre-molar less developed; basal heel of upper and lower canines stronger; posterior lower molar longer and with a distinct heel.

Distribution.—This species is known from a single skin in the collection of the British Museum, which was obtained at Vohima, on the north-east coast of Madagascar.

III. THE HAIRY-EARED MOUSE-LEMUR. CHIROGALE TRICHOTIS.

Chirogaleus trichotis, Günther, P. Z. S., 1875, p. 78, pl. xv.