Fauna of Madagascar 191 



rendered somewhat doubtful by a confusion between the nomencla- 

 ture of it and of the Aye- Aye, our authors do not tell much. What 

 they do say, however, is in favour of its existence. They say : 

 " This animal is very rare in Madagascar, and is only found in the 

 interior of the eastern part of the island." The Museum of St. 

 Denis possesses an individual brought from the environs of Anta- 

 nanarivo by a Jesuit missionary. The Betsimsaracs know this 

 animal under the name of Hansirac. On it and the correctness 

 of the determination of the affinities of the Aye-Aye depends the 

 question whether the rodents are aboriginally represented on the 

 island or not. The opinion of the majority of naturalists places 

 the Aye-Aye among the Lemurs. But if the Sciurus Madagas- 

 cariensis exists, and really is a squirrel, that would settle the 

 question. 



The habits of the Aye- Aye (Cheiromys Madagascariensis) are now 

 so well known that we have no right to be disappointed that we do 

 not find much new information regarding it. It appears that it is 

 very rare, and it is only met with by chance. It lives solitary or in 

 couples, and never in bands, and is essentially nocturnal, sleeping 

 all day in the thick tufts of large bamboos, in the heart of the most 

 impenetrable forests. The name Aye-Aye bestowed on it by 

 Sonnerat as the native name is merely a common exclamation of 

 the Malagese when they see anything strange. 



Of the Bats, one new species Pteropus Dupreanus is proposed, 

 allied to P. stramineus, Geoff., of India. It was rare, having been 

 only seen once. M. Schlegel considers that this new species, P. 

 stramineus, and the P. paleaceus, Peters, may all be the same 

 species \ and also suggests that this species may be identical with 

 the Pteropus medius of the continent of India, and supports his 

 view of their variability by reference to three species from Halma- 

 hera, Ceram, and Arou. 



The birds noticed in this part are all falcons and owls, and the 

 information given regarding them is confined to their specific 

 characters, their affinity to other species, and a few notes regarding 

 their distribution. Beautiful plates of some species not yet noticed 

 in the text accompany the livraison. 



