1902.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 137 



The Slender Loris, " Loris gracilis" of most authors; and (2) the 

 Slow Loris and its allies, "Nydieebus tardir/radus " Auct, 



The first specific name to be proposed for any of them was Lemur 

 tardigradus.^'^ This was based upon the following references: 



(1) L. ecaudatus, 3fus. Ad. Fr., I, p. 3. 



(2) Simla ecaudata unguibus indicis subulatis." 



(3) Animal cynocephalum tardigradum. " 



(4) Animal elegantissimum robinsonii.'^ 



The first I'eference seems to refer exclusively to the Slender Loris, 

 the habitat being Ceylon and the characters given " uaso produc- 

 tiore brachiis manibus pedibusque longis tenuibus." 



The second is a mere catalogue name. Under the third come 

 two plates of Seba with long descriptions ; the first unquestionably 

 refers to the Slender Loris, while, although the text to the second 

 plate seems to refer in part to the Slow Loris, the figure itself looks 

 more like the Slender Loris. 



The last reference is again the Slender Loris from " Ceylon," 

 and the produced rostrum is especially mentioned. 



It will thus be seen that, with the exception of the second plate 

 of Seba, which is of rather doubtful application, all of the quota- 

 tions upon which Lemur tardigradus Linn, are based refer to the 

 Slender Loris, "L. gracilis" Auct., and it is remarkable that the 

 name should have been so imiversally applied to the Nycticebus. 



Another important point brought out in our investigation is the 

 failure of apparently all authors to consider Boddaert' s observations 

 on these animals, Elenchus animalium, p. 67 (1784). He there 

 proposes a genus Tardigradus with two species, T. loris = Slender 

 L(jris and T. coucang = Slow Loris, and correctly refers Lemur 

 tardigradus Linn, to the former. 



As this is the first attempt to establish a separate genus for these 

 animals, the name Tardigradus must be adopted for the Slender 

 Loris. Furthermore, coucang being the first name proposed for 

 the Slow Loris must be adopted for it. 



Geoff roy did not propose his genus Loris until 179G, ui Magasia 

 Encyclopedique, Vol. I, pp. 48-49. This work being inaccessible 

 to us, we are indebted to Mr. Outram Bangs for a transcript of 



'2 Linnaeus, Syst. Nat, X, p. 29. 



" 8yst. Nat., 5, n. 2. 



^"■Scb. Mas., I, p. 55, t. 35, f. 1, 2 ; t. 47, f. 1. 



^'^Ray. Quad., p. 161. 



