Lkct. VIII.] DIET OF THE AYE- AYE. 197 



from 3'ear to 3'ear, 1)ut many liands will be wanted to 

 make light work of this question. One kind of Lemur, 

 wlii(-li I have studied in a suh-adult condition [Clielro- 

 galeus Smith ii) from Madagascar, is much smaller than 

 a Norway Rat, and yet its skull has a very human look. 

 Another, a larger kind (Lrjyih'muf), pleases me vastly: 

 — it has a very curious dentition in front, like that 

 of a Ruminant — Sheep or Cow. 



In this kind the upper incisor teeth are nearly all 

 su}>pressed, and the lower are all like chisels ; this den- 

 tition is (|uite similar to that of our familiar even- 

 toed cattle ; and, if found in some generalised type of 

 ancient herl)ivorous Lemurs, would assuredly l)e set down 

 as a prolepsis, or anticipation, of those nohle recent 

 beasts. Madagascar is the great home of the Lemuroids, 

 although they are found on the mainland of Africa 

 and Asia, and on certain islands contiguous to these 

 continents. The most startling form of the liemu- 

 roids is a native of Madagascar ; this is the Aye-Aye, 

 Cheiromys. In this type, in the adult, the dentition 

 is very similar to that of the Squirrel, whilst the fingers 

 are elongated into long, pointed structures, that seem to 

 1)6 the wing of a Bat, in ])rocess of making. Some say 

 that the Aye- Aye pokes large grubs out of deep holes 

 in trees with these curious fingers ; I have seen him, 

 through Mr Bartlett's kindness, dip his long knuckles 

 into a sweetened, half-liquid diet, and then, as 

 though he were a cook, draw the convex surface of 



