12 on the iBiitnatoiM. 



do not know the specimen from which he has taken his figures and descrip- 

 tion; hut the Potto of Bosman; {Perodicticus Geoffroyi, Bennett; Lemur Potto, 

 Gmel. ; Nycticebus Potto, Geoffr. ) has only four incisors above ; and the 

 reciprocal position of the canines is as in the Lemur. — See Zool. Proceed, for 

 1831, p: 109. — The specimen of Perodicticus Geoffroyi is in the Mus; Zool. 

 Soc, and, being preserved in spirits, its dentition is easily examined. 



Confining ourselves still to Madagascar, a new genus now demands our 

 notice; — it is that termed Cheirogaleus by Geoffroy, from Xtr^, a hand, and 

 TaXv or TacXtv, a Cat. This genus was first established on three drawings by 

 Commerson, in a paper in the Annates du Museum, Vol. 19, p 171. Geoff. 

 St. Hilaire there observes, that the animals made known by these drawings 

 " have, like Cats, the head round, the nose and muzzle short, the lips furnished 

 with whiskers, the eyes large, projecting, and set near together, and the ears 

 short and oval. Their tail is long, bushy, regularly cylindrical, naturally 

 folded, or rolled sometimes on itself, sometimes around the body." — In con- 

 junction with these traits, the general characters are those] of the Lemuridce . 

 Notwithstanding the authority of Geoffroy St. Hilaire, and the drawing of 

 Commerson, noted for his great accuracy, the genus Cheirogaleus long remained 

 doubtful. Recently, however, an animal belonging to this group has been 

 brought alive to Paris, from Madagascar, by Admiral Milius, which, as Geof- 

 froy says, justifies him in the establishment of the genus upon the few data left 

 by Commerson. — It would seem that the animals of this group were not un- 

 known to Flaccourt, who observes, that he noticed in the neighbourhood of 

 Mangobay a kind of Lemur of small size, grey, and with a very blunt muzzle. 

 Compared with the Lemurs, the species of Cheirogaleus are of a stouter and shorter 

 colour ; the general outline of form is the same,but it is as if the long slender figure 

 of the Lemurs was contracted and gathered up together; the head is large, the 

 eye open, the upper lips are thick, and cover those beneath ; so that it seems as if 

 these animals, Lemurs in truth, had borrowed some traits from the feline group. 



Of the species ascribed to this genus, three rest on the authority of Com- 

 merson. These are the Ch: major, 1 Finches in length; the Ch. medius, 8| 

 inches long ; and the Ch : minor, 7 inches long. The individual brought home 

 by Admiral Milius, forms, according to Geoffroy, a fourth species. This 

 animal is described and figured by F. Cuvier, under the name of Maki-nain, 

 to which he has given the name of Ch : Milii. It is upwards of a foot in 

 length; greyish rufous above, greyish white beneath; a circle of white sur- 

 rounds the eyes; the muzzle is naked and blackish. In habits, these animals 

 are decidedly nocturnal ; and their activity is surprising. The specimen at 

 Paris is described as traversing its cage, as if on wings, and taking perpendicu- 

 lar leaps of five or six feet in height. 



