THE OTHER BEASTS 



347 



the index finger reduced to a mere rudiment. It is 

 especially rudimentary in the potto ; and this forms no 

 slight argument against Darwinism, that is, against the 

 doctrine that species have been formed by natural selec- 



FIG. 89. 



THE POTTO. 



tion. For how is it possible that the potto's life could 

 have been repeatedly saved on account of its not possess- 

 ing an index finger ? The Indian Archipelago, that is 

 to say, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, and the Philippine 

 Islands, possess a singular little animal, not so big as 

 the common squirrel, which is a great contrast to the 



