ON THE LEMUR1D.E. 199 



genus they are closely allied ; the head, however, is rounder, and the external 

 ears less developed, which the character and number of the incisor teeth and 

 the presence of a claw, not only on the index finger, but also on the second of 

 the hinder hands, are circumstances distinguishing them from every Lemurine 

 genus. The first description of the Tarsier is due to Daubenton, who gave 

 it this title in allusion to the extraordinary length of the tarsi. Gmelin, 

 however, unacquainted with its true relationship, and misled by its apparently 

 anomalous structure, placed it in his genus Didelphls (the receptacle alike of 

 Opossums and Kangaroos), under the name of Didelpkis macrotarsus. Pen- 

 nant, misled by the length of its tarsi, termed it the Woolly Gerboa ; and it 

 was reserved for Geoffroy St. Hilaire to rescue it from these misalliances, 

 and restore it to its true situation. 



In their manners the Tarsiers resemble the Galagos, being arboreal, nocturnal, 

 and insectivorous. Till lately only one species was known ; a second is, how- 

 ever, added on the authority of Dr. Horsfield, who has figured it under the 

 name of Tarsius Bancanus in his Zoological Researches. It is described as 

 being destitute of the two long middle incisors of the upper jaw. 



Species 1. The Tarsier (Tarsius spectrum, Geoff.; Lemur tarsius, Shaw). 

 — Fur, of a greyish brown ; ears half the length of the head ; tail tufted at the 

 tip ; size of a squirrel. 



Hind foot of Tarsius spectrum. 

 The Tarsius fuscomanus of Fischer is regarded as identical with the T. 

 spectrum. Habitat, Moluccas. In Mus. Zool. Soc. 



Species 2. Tarsius Bancanus, Horsfield. — Colour, fulvous brown ; ears 

 rounded, and shorter than the head; Habitat, Banca. We have never seen 

 a specimen. 



Geoffroy observes, that though the Tarsier has the external ears much less 

 developed than have the Galagos, this inferiority is counterbalanced by the 

 far greater volume of the auditory bulla; of the temporal bones, in the Tarsius 



