48 IIAPALEMUR SIMUS. 



exactly tlie same colour as the fur of the British Museum 

 specimen of Hapalemur griseus , not showing the slightest 

 reason for believing that one would be called H. griseus 

 and the otlier H. olivaceus." 



"I have retained the name of II. griseus for the speci- 

 mens we received from Dr. Meller, which Mr. Sclater 

 determined in the "Proceedings" of this Society to be of 

 that species, but which have the fur much more fit to be 

 called olivaceus than grey. 



"P.S. — I have to day (Dec. O^h) been able to obtain 

 from the Society "Pollen and van Dams Faune de Mada- 

 gascar", and I see clearly that the animal that I have 

 described as Hapalemur simus is the Hapalemur griseus of 

 those authors (p. 6, tab. 3); for at tab. 7 fig. 4 they 

 figure the skull , showing the truncated form of the nose 

 and the wide palate. They consider it the same as the 

 Hapalemur griseus of Geoffroy St. Hilaire , and also Ha- 

 palemur olivaceus of Isidore GeofiTroy, observing, "le 

 crane avec ses dents ne s'eloigne en aucune maniere de 

 celui du soi-disant Lemur griseus; mais cette partie pré- 

 sente , suivant les individus , des differences tres sensibles 

 par la forme des orbites , tantót orbiculaires , tantót un 

 peu elliptiques , par les nasaux tantót saillants , tantót ren- 

 trants, par Ie manque ou l'existence d'incisives a la machoire 

 supérieure , et par d autres traits de moindre importance." 



"I had no doubt of H. simus being quite distinct from 

 what we had called 11. griseus in England. The upper 

 cutting teeth of the Museum skull of H. simus are as 

 distinct as they are in II. griseus." 



The reader may judge by the foregoing pages , which 

 contain an exact copy of all the notes , published by Dr. 

 Gray about Hapalemur simus , how much this zoologist 

 was puzzled with a subject, simple in its kind, indeed. 



In his search for osteological characteristics, where there 

 exist none , in his anxiety of furnishing the species with a 

 precise diagnosis, he falls in a network of repetitions, and 

 spreads confusion when he tries to elucidate. 



Notes Ironi tlie Leyden ÜMuseuni, Vol. II. 



