70 lt.oyd's natural history. 



Cliaracters. — Ears tufted, with long hairs continuing down 

 the side of the neck to the angle of the mouth. 



Male. — Entirely black. 



Female. — Formerly described as a distinct species, and 

 known as the White-whiskered Lemur (Z. leucomystax). Face 

 and lips black, darkest on the nose, round the eyes and hinder 

 part of the head ; forehead blackish-grey ; whiskers and ear- 

 tufts white, almost concealing the ears. General colour of body 

 rich ferruginous brown, darker on the middle of the back ; 

 arms, legs and neck reddish-yellow ; tail whiter ; throat, 

 under side of body and inner side of limbs creamy-white. 



There is a considerable amount of variation in this species. 

 Some individuals have the lower back and base of tail white ; 

 the belly greyish-white, the feet brown, and the toes black. In 

 others the black frontal spot is wanting, the back of the head 

 being reddish- white; the basal half of the tail is dark orange-red, 

 remainder of the body rich rusty-brown. On the fore-arm is a 

 cluster of stiff hairs, which occurs in association with a large 

 underlying sweat-gland, whose function is not yet understood. 



Distribution. — The north-west coast of Madagascar. 



Habits. — The special habits of this species of Lemur are un- 

 known, but in all probability they agree with those of the group 

 in general, as given under the heading of the genus. It is said 

 to utter a coarse grunting call-note. 



The young males are born black like the father, and the 

 young females have the colour of the mother. Dr. Sclater has 

 observed that in specimens in confinement in the Zoological 

 Gardens, in London, the female carried her young one trans- 

 versely across her belly, its long tail passing round her back and 

 then round its own neck. 



