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Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
PALM OF HAND OF GARNETT’S GALAGO.
(Original after Murie.)

SOLE OF FOOT, WITH LONG

HEEL, OF GARNETT’S GALAGO.
(Original after Murie.)
 “It has one failing—otherwise its capture were no easy task.
Should a pot of palm-wine be left on the tree, the creature drinks to
excess, comes down, and rushes about intoxicated. In captivity they
are wild; during the day remaining either rolled up in a ball, or
perched half asleep, with ears stowed away like a Beetle’s wing
under its hard and ornamented case (elytra). I had half a dozen
Squirrels with one in the same cage; these were good friends, the
latter creeping under the ‘Golgo’s’ soft fur and falling asleep. On
introducing a few specimens of Shrew (Macroscelides tetradactylus),
the ‘Golgo’ seized one and bit off its tail, which, however, it did not
eat. The food it took was biscuit, rice, orange, banana, guava, and a
little cooked meat. Stupid during the day, it became active at night,
or just after darkness set 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. It has been observed at the Luabo mouth of the Zambesi, at
Quilimane, and at Mozambique. When I had my live specimen at
Zanzibar, the natives there did not seem to recognise it;
nevertheless, it may be abundant on the mainland.”
 POTTO IN ITS SLEEPING AND WAKING ATTITUDES. (Modified from Alph. Milne-
Edwards.)

Mr. Monteiro tells us that the Loanda specimens have not the
character of being such a drunken lot of creatures, though they are
arrant thieves, but otherwise he corroborates Kirk’s observations. He
mentions that they come in bands, and rob the fruit-trees of the
villages. Their flesh is looked upon as good eating, and their skins
are eagerly sought for, the fur being used to staunch wounds. In
allusion to the Galago’s inebriety, Dr. Gray relates that a friend of his
gave a half-grown Scotch Terrier to a distiller, who soon returned it
with the character of “habit and repute.” The animal could not by
any correction be prevented from drinking the spirit as it came from
the still, or any spirits it could get, and it would stagger and reel
about, verifying the term, “a drunken dog,” so often applied to divine
man.
 THE AFRICAN SLOW LEMURS.

The rest of the African Lemuroids have not the habits,

appearance, and anatomy of the Galagos, and are a very sad, weird,
slow-going set, totally different from the active, careless kinds
already noticed. A world of care seems to hang around their
deliberate movements; they are images of Sleepy Hollow; they never
are seen to spring and rush about, but ordinarily conduct themselves
with great gravity and decorum. Slow they are, and hence their
name the Slow Loris, and their body and limbs are not made for
rapid locomotion. The limbs are nearly equal in length, their head is
globular, and the eyes are uneven. The short ears and short fur are
all of a piece, and so is the short tail (for this is most common), and
the short second or index (counting the thumb as one) finger. The
back or rib vertebræ are fourteen or more, and the loin-bones are
never less than seven. There is a remarkable division of the blood-
vessels of the arms, loins, and legs called the rete mirabile. The
vessels split into minute tubes, like hairs in calibre, but of two sizes,
and lie closely adherent to each other in long parallel lines (see page
245); this arrangement, also termed a plexus, or plexiform, being
similar in kind to what is met with in the Sloth tribe of South
America. The Slow Lemurs inhabit both Africa and Asia, but are not
found in Madagascar, and their mode of life is strictly arboreal and
nocturnal.
The first African genus is Perodicticus.
 ANGWÁNTIBO. (Slightly altered after Huxley.)

VAN BOSMAN’S POTTO.[137]

As far back as the year 1705, while on a voyage to the Guinea

coast, the Dutch navigator, Van Bosman, came across a new and
strange little quadruped which, on his return, he figured and briefly
described under the name of Potto. The colonists knew it as the
Bush-dog, and that it was slothful and retiring, seldom making its
appearance except in the night-time, and then to feed on the
cassada and other vegetables. It is remarkable for its singular hand,
which has, as it were, a deformed forefinger, and for a seeming
protrusion of the neck-bones.
Like other tropical night-animals, the home or wild habits of the
Potto have only been loosely studied. It is not restricted to the
northern parts of Guinea, but is found on the Gold Coast and at the
Gaboon River under the Equator. It shows a certain agility at night,
clambering up the most smooth and polished branches with ease.
When caught, and in captivity, one authority says, it sped along the
cornices and angles within the house wherever there was the least
elevation from the wall.
Those specimens which have lived
in the Regent’s Park Gardens from
time to time have fed on the same
kind of food and exhibited no special
differences of habit from the Slow
Loris of Asia, presently to be
described, if we except a more
intractable disposition; for they have
seemed rather addicted to giving an
ugly bite whenever attempted to be
handled, however gently. Mr. Bartlett
managed to get one that showed a
HAND AND FOOT OF
more amiable disposition, courting ARCTOCEBUS.
kindly stroking. When first obtained, it (After Huxley, Zool. Soc. Proc.)
was so young that doubts were
entertained of its surviving, especially
as it suffered from the cold weather. To obviate this a small bag of
hare-skin was made, fur inside, and Master Potto was placed therein.
Furthermore, a bitch having whelps on the premises, one of the
latter was put in with the young African for a while, then another,
and so on in rotation, the animal heat of Potto being duly sustained.
The latter clung to the puppies as it would to its mother, hugging
them on the belly so tight that the doggies did not quite seem to
relish their forced companion. This nursing, however, did well, and
Potto was duly reared, and became on the whole good tempered.
Mr. Skues records having purchased a female at Cape Coast on
the 31st March, 1869, along with its young one, which had been
born on the 8th February. They slept all day; the mother usually
perched on a door, with the youngster clasped to her belly, by its
fore and hind extremities. At dusk they came down and wandered
about the room all night. After a time, young Potto scampered hither
and thither on his own account. Milk and bread they refused, but
would feed on pine-apples and bananas, with water. Although there
were insects about the room, as is the case always in tropical
climates, the Pottos were never detected eating them, but one day
the mother was found busily munching at a tray of preserved
Beetles. At Accra, circumstances prevented due attention being
given them, and there the young one died aged twenty-two weeks.
The mother survived only six weeks. The negroes seemed to be
much afraid of the Potto, which they called “Aposo,” or “Aposou.” It
inhabits West Africa and the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea.
The hairs on the Potto are longish, soft, and woolly, mouse-
coloured at the base, rusty in the middle, and paler tipped. Hence
results a general chestnut tint, with intermixture of grey, the under
surface being considerably paler. The limbs are nearly of one length;
the head rounded, with slightly-hairy shortish ears, and moderately-
projecting muzzle. The nose and chin are almost naked and flesh-
coloured, the former grooved or nicked in the centre. The eyes are
lateral and oblique, very convex, and with an oblong pupil. The
index, or first finger, is very short, resembling a tubercle.
The nature and number of the teeth indicate a mixed diet, as
there are four incisors above and below, and two canines in the
upper and lower jaw. Then come three pre-molars and three lower
grinders on each side in both jaws.

GENUS ARCTOCEBUS, OR BEAR MONKEY TRIBE.[138]

The next genus is very singular. The species has just the trace of
a tail, and the index finger is reduced to a slight projection, or
tubercle, on which there is no trace of a nail, and the fingers and
toes about the lower joints are united by skin. The ear has two cross
folds, and there are fifteen dorsal back-bones, and seven in the loin
region.
 THE ANGWÁNTIBO.[139]

Our knowledge of this curious African species, which comes from

West Africa and Old Calabar, truly a “three-fingered Jack,” is due to
the Rev. A. Robb, when missionary at Old Calabar. From his letter
(December, 1859) accompanying the bottled specimen first
transmitted to England, we gather the following history:—“The
Calabar people call it Angwántibo—angwán means a farm, but we do
not know the etymology of the second part of the word, and cannot
say whether it arose from any habit peculiar to the animal. It lives in
trees; but, being nocturnal, the people know exceedingly little about
it. They cannot tell what it eats. A lad whom I asked said that he
lived in the house, and it lived in the bush, how then could he know
anything about it? My Krumen also recognised it as a countryman of
theirs. They consider the one sent as a young one, and say that in
their country it grows to the size of a common puss. Probably theirs
is a different animal, but I cannot tell. They call it Dwăn, and say
that it lays down the law to the other beasts, forbidding them to eat
the young fruit when it begins to form on the trees. If the Monkey
transgresses, the Dwăn seizes him, and holds him there till he dies—
yea, the Monkey rots in his grasp. They say they are shot together
thus. If the Monkey gets the shot, the Dwăn holds on; if the Dwăn
gets the shot, they fall together. The Krumen say that the Dwăn eats
fruit. This is all we know about it at present; and their (the
Krumen’s) account seems somewhat fabulous.”
 SLOW LORIS. (After Tickell and Alph. Milne-Edwards.)

Dr. Alexander Smith describes and compares the animal with the
Potto. He mentions the following characters:—Above, yellowish-
brown, the roots of the hairs, dark grey; below, paler, in some parts
nearly white; hair, wool-like; length from muzzle to point of tail, 10½
inches, the tail being only a quarter of an inch long. The body is
slender; the head oval and rounded, with a blunt but protuberant
face; the eyes, full and large; ears, naked within, and with short
hairs externally; nostrils, sinuous, and laterally placed; there is
projecting fold beneath the tongue, as in other Lemuroids, and the
neck is short. The limbs are slender, the hinder a trifle larger and
stronger than the others; both feet and hands conform to those of
the Potto, with, however, a still greater reduction of the index finger.
He observes that the hands and feet are divided, as it were, into two
opposing portions, which he likens to the grasp of such climbing-
birds as the Parrots. This peculiarity, along with the multiple blood-
vessel division of the extremities, he thinks indicative of long-
enduring muscular action, stealthy step, and adaptation for gripping
twigs of trees, rather than for the purpose of capturing a prey.

RETE MIRABILE. (Original after Murie.)

Greatly magnified, and partly diagrammatic representations of a Rete Mirabile.
A. General appearance. B. Cross section of vessels. C. How the capillary vessels of
two sizes join.

The anatomical peculiarities of the Angwántibo have been lucidly

described by Prof. Huxley in the “Proceedings of the Zoological
Society,” where, from his examination, he substantiates Dr. Gray’s
separation of the animal generically from its African mother the
Potto.

THE ASIATIC SLOW LEMUROIDS.—THE SLOW LORIS.[140]

 There are two well-marked kinds of these Lemuroida to be met
with in very large districts in the East, and they live in the tropical
woods of Eastern and Southern Hindostan, Ceylon, Burmah, Siam,
Cochin China, the Malay Archipelago, and in the great Islands of
Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. But they do not live together in the
same parts.
The first to be noticed has the widest
geographical range, and is to be found here
and there from Hindostan to China, and
from Burmah to the great islands. Hence
quite a voluminous history is attached to
this animal, whose singular appearance and
habits, peculiar anatomy, and geographical
distribution, have been the fruitful theme
for travellers and naturalists of most
European nations. He is called by many
names, and is the Bashful Billy—“Chirmundi
Billi”—of the Bengalese, or the Slow Lemur,
and naturalists term him the Slow Loris, or
SLOW LORIS. Kukang (Nycticebus tardigradus). When he
(From a sketch by Tickell.) is turned out of his quarters in the daytime,
he reminds one of a very young, awkward
puppy without a tail. But his eyes, however,
are enormous and owl-like, and seem to start protuberantly forwards
with an unmeaning stare. When his wits return, and the scare
ceases, he softly turns on his heel, and with a very slow, measured
pace—hand-over-hand, as sailors term it—makes for his box. There
is a cool, sedate manner about his whole proceedings which may
either be taken for wisdom or stupidity. During the night, when
hungry cravings send him forth on his own account, his eyes light
up, and he seems more alive to his interests, though seldom
increasing the activity of his movements. On a table he waddles like
a sailor newly ashore, but with a rope or bough to grasp, by foot or
hand, there ensues a grip like a vice, a steady mode of ascent
putting him betimes out of reach of danger.
 The eye of the Kukang, besides its adaptation to nocturnal vision,
in the presence of a tapetum, or silvery lining to the choroid or
blood-vessel layer, has also a singular manner of closing. Instead of
the eyelids shutting from above downwards, as in the majority of
Mammals, they approach obliquely outwards and inwards. This
mode of closure is entirely due to an inequality in the fleshy fibres
which surround the eyelid, and, together with the large pupil,
somewhat elliptical in shape, produces in daylight a very strange,
unmeaning look. It has a very odd knack of hanging to boughs, body
downwards, and the way in which it is done, asleep or awake,
apparently receives explanation from the mode in which certain of
the flexor muscles are fastened above the knee-joint. Thus, by
simple bending of the leg, the toes are drawn (on bending) together,
and hold fast without any sensible muscular exertion. The
mechanism, in fact, is similar in kind to that which enables birds to
perch while slumbering, or by which Bats adhere to crevices while
suspended head downwards. It possesses the peculiar rete mirabile
of blood-vessels already noticed.
Many anecdotes respecting the habits of the Nycticebus in
confinement have hitherto found currency, a similar vein of narrative
running through each. One kept by Mr. Baird some nine months had
a preference for veal, fresh-killed fowls’ necks, sugar, and gum-
arabic, cooked meat being abhorred. Instead of recounting old
stories, we append the following observations of Captain Tickell, not
hitherto made public:—
“This animal is tolerably common in the Tenasserim provinces,
and in Arracan, but from being strictly nocturnal in its habits is
seldom seen. It inhabits the densest forests, and never by choice
leaves the trees. Its movements are slow, but it climbs readily, and
grasps with great tenacity. If placed on the ground, it can proceed, if
frightened, in a wavering kind of trot, the limbs bent at right angles,
like a mutilated Spider. It sleeps rolled up in a ball, its head and
hands buried between its thighs, and wakes up at the dusk of
evening to commence its nocturnal rambles. The female bears but
one young at a time. In confinement they are at first savage, bite
severely, and in spite of general slow movements, can do so pretty
quickly, uttering a rough grunt or growl. They, however, get quiet, if
not absolutely docile, in time, and are kept without difficulty,
requiring no other diet than plantains, or any other kind of fruit.
They become content to remain in the smallest box, where another
animal would soon pine and perish for want of exercise. When for a
time confined they readily abandon their nocturnal habits, eat during
the day, and rest at night. They will thus remain contentedly on an
old punkah hung in a lumber-room, for many days; but, unless
thoroughly reclaimed, they will always seize an opportunity during
night to escape, never travelling far, however, and generally turning
up in some thicket or bamboo-clump, or other quiet corner in the
grounds. They greedily devour all sorts of insects, and also birds’
eggs.”
On one occasion Captain Tickell watched an individual crawling
along the floor to seize a Cockroach. When it had approached within
ten or twelve inches, it drew its hind feet gradually forwards until
almost under its chest; it then cautiously and slowly raised itself up
into a standing position, balancing itself awkwardly with its uplifted
arms, and then, to his astonishment, flung itself, not upon the
insect, which was off “like an arrow from a Tartar’s bow,” but on the
spot which it had, half a second before, tenanted (see woodcut).
This is its manner, however, of catching such of its living food as will
wait long enough. Grubs, Caterpillars, and the slower Beetles
(Scarabæi) are seized in one or both hands, and slowly carried to its
mouth, and there solemnly munched up; the Nycticebus looking all
the time, with its delicate small muzzle and its protuberant eyes, like
one of those apologetic pigmy Lapdogs ladies love to carry. It is
almost wholly silent, but when roused to take food, now and then it
utters a feeble tone, like the crackling of some substance in the fire.
When angry, and about to bite, it gives forth a tolerably loud growl
or grunt.
The above animal (with one or possibly two species) forms the
genus Nycticebus, in which the body and limbs are short; there is no
tail, and the head is globular, whilst there are no less than sixteen
back-bones with ribs. The index finger is short, and there is a nail on
it.
The next genus is called Loris, or Stenops.

THE SLENDER LORIS.[141]

Comes from Ceylon, Malabar, and the Coromandel Coast, and the
Malays in Ceylon call it “Seyvoingoo,” the Cinghalese, “Onaha
ppoolowa.” The meagre figure and long lank limbs of this creature
give it a droll, half-starved look, its skin-tight robes and silent
melancholy lending oddity, but not gracefulness, to its charms. If
seen during the day, and made to walk on a flat surface, what
between its blinking, peeping eyes and awkward gait, a feeling of
pity devoid of admiration is apt to arise. But watched at night, when
it is clambering among branches, its character changes to that of a
more lithe and nimbler animal, whose great staring eyes and gliding
progress most surely indicate a nature less apathetic than a more
hasty conclusion would warrant. Its uncommonly long body, devoid
of a tail, is rendered more striking on account of limb-length, and
the colour is usually of an unequal sooty-grey, the back mingled with
much rusty-tinted or tawny hairs. The under parts are whitish, and
there is a light nose-streak. The space round the eyes, which are
close together, is dusky, and on the head is a dark spot, pointing to
the inner eyelid. As in other of the Lemuroid groups, there is no
absolute constancy in depth of tint and markings, lighter and darker
varieties being met with. The rounded ears are conspicuous, though
not long and mobile as in the Galagos, and the face has a kind of
Dog-like expression. The hair is very singular when the animal is
alive: it resembles soft packed wool, somewhat curled and arranged
in little tufts, as the hair on the scalp of the negro, but very delicate;
it soon loses this appearance after death if much handled, as is
always the case in removing the skin.
SLENDER LORIS, SHOWING ITS ATTITUDES AND HABITS. (In part after Emerson
Tennent.)

The Slender Loris is very common in the lower country of the

south and east of Ceylon. Dr. Templeton, who had several of them,
observes “that after a few months’ confinement they soon begin to
pine and die. One was particularly noticed. If the room was perfectly
quiet about dusk, it ventured about, crawling along the rails of the
chairs with a very gentle movement. There was an interval of nearly
a minute in the closing of its hands on the parts of the furniture
which it grasped in succession, while moving its head from side to
side with much grave deliberation. But when a Spider or other insect
came within its reach, its clutch at it was quick as lightning, and with
equal rapidity it was conveyed to the mouth. It seemed particularly
anxious to avoid having its hinder extremities touched. When
approached, it retiringly slunk along the stick placed slantingly in the
corner for its use, or along the back of the chair, with the usual
deliberate movement. Its great goggle eyes would be fixed
immovably on your face or hands if held towards it, and with every
expression of fear. Its mouth appears small, and so little distensible
that one cannot imagine it capable of biting anything except it be of
very small size. The natives, nevertheless, assert that it destroys
Peacocks in the jungle, seizing them by the neck, which it clutches
with such tenacity that the bird soon falls exhausted to the ground
off its perch, or in its sudden flight, attempting to escape its
persecutor. Having devoured the brain, the Loris leaves the rest of
the body untouched.” Among the others in his possession,
Templeton alludes to a female which gave birth to a young one.
“This latter, when ushered into the world, was about two inches
long, like a Mouse, perfectly without hairy covering, a large head,
attenuated body, and excessively slender legs. The face and eyes
were proportionally much smaller than in the older animal. It clung
to the mother so tenaciously, that I believe it would almost have
parted with its life than let go its hold.” This baby Loris, he remarks,
was not at all entitled to the usual appellation, Dog-like.
Sir J. Emerson Tennent says that the Slender Loris, from its
sluggish movements, nocturnal habits, and consequent inaction
during the day, has acquired the name of the “Ceylon Sloth.”
According to him there are two varieties in the island; one of the
ordinary fulvous brown, and another larger, whose fur is entirely
black. A specimen of the former was sent to him from Chilaw, on the
western coast, and lived for some time at Colombo, feeding on rice,
fruit, and vegetables. It was partial to Ants and other insects, and
always eager for milk or the bone of a Fowl. The natural slow motion
of its limbs enables the Loris to approach its prey so stealthily that it
seizes birds before they can be alarmed by its presence. During the
day one which he kept was usually asleep in the strange position
shown in the woodcut (p. 247), its perch firmly grasped with its
hands, its back curved into a ball of soft fur, and its head hidden
deep between its legs. The singularly large and intense eyes of the
Loris have attracted the attention of the Cinghalese, who capture the
creature for the purpose of extracting them as charms and love-
potions, and this they are said to effect by holding the little animal
to the fire till its eyeballs burst. Its Tamil name is theivangu, or “thin-
bodied;” and hence a deformed child or an emaciated person has
acquired in the Tamil districts the same epithet. The light-coloured
variety of the Loris in Ceylon has a spot on its forehead, somewhat
resembling the namam, or mark worn by the worshippers of Vishnu;
and from this peculiarity it is distinguished as the Nama-theivangu.
A curious animal, differing from the foregoing Slow Lemuroids,
but Asiatic in its distribution, is the only species of the genus Tarsius.

GENUS TARSIUS.—THE SPECTRE TARSIER, OR TARSIUS. THE MALMAG.[142]

This is a small, active creature, which appears to excite great

terror in the minds of the natives of the East Indian Archipelago,
from its curious-shaped face, and sudden appearance at dusk. So
impressed are the inhabitants of some portions of Java with its
malevolent influence, that if they see one of them on a tree near
their rice-grounds, they will leave them uncultivated.
About the size of a small, common Squirrel, this tiny cause of
fright has a round head, like that of a Marmoset, a pointed muzzle,
large ears, and staring eyes. Its grinning mouth gives a queer and
comical look to the face. Its body is about six inches in length. The
limbs are long, especially the hind pair, and the tail—about nine
inches long—is slender, and furnished with a brush of long hair at
the end. The colour of the body is fawn-brown as a rule, and the
bare parts are of a flesh tint, and the forehead, face, and nose are
reddish, and there is a black eye-streak. The name is derived from
the fact of the “tarsus,” or ankle-bones, being remarkably developed,
the heel-bones being very long. There is but one kind as yet known,
and it can be distinguished from all the other Lemuroids by the
peculiarity of its front teeth. There are four upper ones and only two
lower, and the inner pair of the upper jaw are much larger than the
outer. There are four canine teeth; and there are twelve molar teeth
in each jaw, six being false molars. These teeth are very crowded,
and there is scarcely any space between them. The ends of the
fingers and toes are well supplied with pads, which assist the animal
in its jumping and clinging, and the second and third toes have
short, sharp, and pointed claws, which stand nearly erect. The nails
of the hands are scale-like and triangular, and this is the case with
those of the great and outer toes.

TARSIUS. (Animal after Burmeister, but modified from specimens in the British
Museum.)

The cavity for the eye, or orbit, is unlike that of any other of the
Lemuroida, for it is closed behind, and does not open there on to the
temple; this is, therefore, very characteristic. But the globular-
shaped head, although remarkable, is not quite so distinctive. The
most striking anatomical feature, and indeed that which is
observable in the outside shape, is the disproportionate length of the
heel-bones and foot to the lower leg and thigh. It has a very small
side-bone to the leg (fibula), and it does not reach to the ankle.
Oddly enough, the third finger of the hand is the longest, and the
second and fourth are nearly equal, presenting a difference with
regard to the other Lemuroida. So that this small, active creature,
with a Monkey-like appearance, has more resemblance to the
Insectivora, and differs very considerably from the rest of the group
with which it is classified. The Spectre Tarsier, which inhabits the
Oriental Archipelago and the Philippine Islands, has not been
brought alive to England, but the late well-known naturalist, Mr.
Cuming, gave the following description of its habits and peculiarities:
—
“The Malmag is a small animal living under the roots of trees,
particularly the large bamboo of these islands. Its principal food is
Lizards, which it prefers to all other. When extremely hungry I have
known it to eat Shrimps and Cockroaches, and give a great
preference to those which are alive. It is very cleanly in its habits;
never touches any kind of food that has been partly consumed, and
never drinks a second time from the same water. It seldom makes
any kind of noise, and when it does emit sound, it is a sharp, shrill
call, and only once. On approaching it in its cage it fixes its large full
eyes upon the party for a length of time, never moving a muscle; on
drawing nearer or putting anything near it, it draws up the muscles
of the face similar to a Monkey, and shows its beautiful, sharp,
regular-set teeth. It laps water like a Cat, but very slowly, and eats
much for so small an animal. It springs nearly two feet at a time. It
sleeps much by day, is easily tamed, and becomes quite familiar,
licking the hands and face, and creeping about your person, and is
fond of being caressed. It has an aversion to the light, always
retiring to the darkest place. It sits upon its posteriors when it feeds,
holding its food by its fore-paws; when not hungry it will ogle the
food for a considerable time. A male and female are generally seen
together; the natives of these islands make sure of taking the
second having secured the first. They are extremely scarce in the
island of Bohol, and found only in the woods of Jagna and the island
of Mindanao. It produces one at a time. I had the good fortune to
procure a female without knowing her to be with young. One
morning I was agreeably surprised to find she had brought forth.
The young one appeared to be rather weak, but a perfect
resemblance to its parent; the eyes were open and covered with
hair. It soon gathered strength, and was constantly sucking betwixt
its parent’s legs, and so well covered by its mother that I seldom
could see anything of it but its tail. On the second day it began to
creep about the cage with apparent strength, and even climb up to
the top by the rods of which the cage was composed. Upon persons
wishing to see the young one when covered over by the mother, we
had to disturb her, upon which the dam would take the young one in
its mouth, in the same manner as a Cat, and carry it about for some
time. Several times I saw her, when not disturbed, trying to get out
of the cage, with the young one in her mouth as before. It continued
to live and increase in size for three weeks, when, unfortunately,
some one trod upon the tail of the old one which was protruded
through the cage, a circumstance which caused her death in a few
days. The young one died a few hours after, and I put it in spirits.”

GENUS CHEIROMYS.

Another Madagascar Lemuroid remains to be noticed, and it

ought to have been described with those of that great island; but
the creature is so unlike all the others, and is so manifestly inferior
in its Lemuroid character, and peculiar in its construction and habits,
that it is necessary to place it at the end of all. Its position in the
scale of classification is at the end of the Lemuroida, for although it
has many of their anatomical characters, it resembles the Rodents,
or Gnawers, in others. It is called
 THE AYE-AYE.[143]

This is one of the most remarkable animals in the world, both on

account of its peculiar Squirrel shape and Lemur-like construction, as
well as on account of its habits. The animal was first kept and
described by the traveller Sonnerat, who obtained a male and female
from the west coast of Madagascar. He kept them on board ship and
fed them on boiled rice for two months, when they died, and he
used to remark that they used a finger of each hand to eat with,
after the fashion of the Chinese, who use chopsticks. Having shown
them to some of the natives of the east coast of the island, they
were surprised, and denied that these curious-looking creatures
belonged to their part of the country; moreover, they ejaculated
“Aye-aye” on seeing them, and thus gave the familiar name to the
breed. It is now known that the so-called Aye-Aye chiefly inhabits
the forests of bamboos, which are numerous in the interior of the
island. They are rare animals, and live a solitary life, or are found in
pairs, but they never associate in bands of several individuals. They
are essentially nocturnal in their habits, for they sleep all the day
long in the thick bunches of leaves of the bamboos in the most
impenetrable part of the forests, and they are therefore rarely seen,
and are only met with quite by accident. The Aye-Aye feeds on the
pith of the bamboos, and on sugar-canes, but it also loves Beetles
and their grubs as a change of food. During the dark nights it
awakens the echoes of the forest with a kind of plaintive grunting,
and jumps from bough to bough, and clambers up the trees with
great agility and vivacity, examining the bark of old trees most
carefully in order to find its favourite insect-food.
 AYE-AYE. (After Owen, Trans. Zool. Soc., but modified.)

As daylight approaches, the Aye-Aye ceases its lively play and

forest-roaming, and moves into the sombre shades of the densest
foliage; there it avoids the light and the rays of the sun, and placing
its head between the fore-feet, and encircling itself with its bushy
tail, the now half-torpid creature sleeps on until the evening.
The Aye-Aye is about three feet in length, including the long tail,
and there is a half Fox, half Lemur look about it, with a little of the
Squirrel. The hind feet at first sight are like those of a Monkey, as
are also the limbs; but the hands are not in keeping with the rest,
for the fingers are of all kinds of lengths, and the middle one looks
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