5 50 AFFINITIES OF 7\4RSIUS 



borings of the larva of a certain beetle of which tlie Lemur is 

 particularly fond, and can extract the insect, or at any rate 

 discover its position, when it may be extracted by the powerful 

 chisel-shaped teeth. The partiality of the Aye-aye for animal 

 food of any kind including insects has been both reaffirmed and 

 denied ; and Mr. Bartlett has seen the creature use its slender 

 finger for comliing out its hair, and fur other purposes uf tlie 

 " toilet." Dr. Oudemans has figured in liis paper an apple wliich 

 has been largely eaten by the Chvromys ; tlie fleshy pulp has 

 been entirely excavated, leaving only the core and the skin, which 

 are untouched. The Eev. Mr. Baron is one of the latest writers 

 upon the ways of life of Chiromys} He states that it inhal)its 

 the most dense parts of the forests. It has the habit of prowling 

 about in pairs, and the female produces Init a single young one 

 at a birth. A nest, which is about 2 feet across, is made of twigs 

 in lofty l)ranc]ies. This is occupied during the day, and entered 

 by a hole in the side. With regard to the superstitious venera- 

 tion in which the animal is held, it is said that if a person sleeps 

 in the forest the Aye-aye will bring him a pillow. " If a pillow 

 for the head, the person will become rich ; if for the feet, he will 

 shortly succumb to the creature's fatal power, or at least will 

 become bewitched." But a counter-charm may be obtained. It 

 is said that the reverence for this beast leads tlie natives to bury 

 carefully a specimen found dead. 



Fam. 3. Tarsiidae. — This family also consists of but a single 

 genus. Tarsias, tO' which it is the general opinion that but a 

 single species belongs ; there are, how^ever, at least four different 

 specific names on record. The general aspect of tlie animal is 

 not unlike that of a Clalago, with wiiicli it also agrees in the 

 elongation of tlie ankle ; but the elongation is more pronounced 

 in the present genus. The ears are large, and the eyes are 

 extraordinarily developed. The fingers and toes terminate in 

 large expanded discs, and are furnished with flattened nails 

 except on the second and third toes, which liave claws. The tail 

 is longer than the body and is tufted at the end. The skull is 

 more like that of the Anthropoidea than is the skull of any 

 other Lemur. The resemblance is by reason of the almost com- 

 plete separation of the orbit and the temporal fossa by bone ; 



1 Proc. Zool. Sol: 1882, p. 639 ; see also Rev. G. A. Sliaw, Proc. Zool. Soc. ISb-?, 

 p. 44, 2nd Art. 



