VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY IN 1908 451 



been found in the upper layers of the marsh ; and, since 

 there are traditions in the island of the former existence of 

 an extinct hippopotamus and of a creature which may well 

 have been the aepyornis (probably the " roc " of the Arab 

 voyagers), the author is of opinion that the most recent of the 

 extinct lemuroid remains are not more than five centuries old. 

 This is equivalent to saying that in the reign of Henry IV., 

 Madagascar was the home of the roc, a hippopotamus, and a 

 host of giant lemurs. 



Dr. Standing's classification of the lemurs differs consider- 

 ably from that of previous writers, the whole group being 

 divided into the families Indrisidce, Lemuridce t and Tarsiidce. 

 In the former are included not only the extinct Archceole- 

 murines and the modern Indrisince (sifakas), but likewise the 

 aye-aye, the sole representative of the Chiromyince, which is 

 regarded, and doubtless rightly, merely as a specialised form. 

 In the Lemuridce are comprised the extinct Megaladapince 

 together with the modern African Galagince and the Asiatic 

 and West African Lorisince, the Tarsiidce being, of course, 

 represented merely by the tarsier. It may be of interest to- 

 contrast this classification with that of Max Weber, in 

 which the group is divided into Tarsiidce, Lemnridce, and 

 Nycticebidce ; of which the second family includes the 

 Lemurince, Indrisince, [and CJiiromyince, while the third com- 

 prises the Galagince and Lorisince. The characters presented 

 by the tympanic ring, on which Prof. Max. Weber bases his 

 classification, are ignored by Dr. Standing. 



The most important part of the author's investigations 

 is that connected with the relationship of the lemuroids \.o 

 the higher Primates — a matter in regard to which there 

 has been very considerable diversity of opinion among 

 naturalists. In the first place Dr. Standing definitely accepts 

 the view that Africa and Madagascar formed the eastern 

 portion of a great continent, extending across the Atlantic 

 to South America, and that this connection persisted till 

 well into the Tertiary epoch ; while he is further of opinion 

 that the connection between Madagascar and Africa per- 

 sisted still later, possibly to the Miocene. On this continent 

 lived, during the Eocene, a primate stock with most of 

 the distinctive simian characters ; which by the Oligocene- 

 had developed into Cebidce on the American, and by the 



