88 ZOOLOGY OP THE BEISTOL MUSEUM. 



are met with in great profusion in their native woods, where they 

 may be seen hanging from the branches like clusters of fruit. 

 They are described as often remaining motionless for hours, 

 although capable of moving with great activity. They are 

 destitute of cheek-pouches, and their teeth are thirty-six in 

 number instead of thirty-two, which is the number for the higher 

 apes and man. The nostrils open at the sides, whence the name 

 Platyrhine given to the family. Several species are described 

 differing somewhat, but chiefly of dark or jet black color, with 

 longish hair. 



The Loris belongs to another family of the Quadrumana, viz., 

 the Lemuridse. The true Lemurs are inhabitants of Madagascar, 

 where they appear to replace the Monkeys. In the Lemuridse 

 all the feet have five fingers, the fourth being the largest. The 

 hind feet are longer than the fore feet; all the nails are flat 

 except that of the second finger, which is narrow and hooked like 

 a claw. 



The genus Loris contains some curious animals which differ 

 from the true Lemurs by the almost entire absence of a tail; 

 whereas in the Lemurs this organ is long and bushy. 



Of the two species of Loris, the limbs are delicate and slender 

 in the L. gracilis, while in the present species L. tardigradus, or 

 Kukane, they are somewhat more heavy. Mr. Bennett, in his 

 *' Gardens and Menageries," says, "Its proportions are short and 

 thick set, and the apparent clumsiness of its form is much 

 increased by the manner in which it usually contracts itself into 

 a ball. Its head is broad, flat, and rounded with a slightly pro- 

 jecting and pointed muzzle, in which the nostrils are perforated 

 laterally. Its eyes are large and perfectly orbicular, and furnished 

 with transverse pupils capable of being entirely closed during the 

 day, and of being very largely dilated at night: their inner canthus 

 is situated so low towards the nose, that the motion of the eyelids 

 appears to take place in a diagonal instead of a horizontal 

 direction. The ears are short, round, and widely open, but 

 buried in the fur, and the tail is merely a rudiment of a few 



