102 QUADRUMANA. 



and sleep ; they are dead in the day, their life begins with the twiHght. 

 They are divided into three families, the first of which, the Lemuridie, 

 contains eleven genera, the others only one genus each. 



THE LEMURID^^. 



The animals of this family are characterized by an elongated head, 

 analogous to that of certain carnivorous animals, from whence the name 

 of Fox-headed Monkeys which some of the species have received ; by 

 opposable thumbs on the four extremities, and especially by the nail on 

 the index finger of the hind-feet, which is long, compressed, and sharp, and 

 singularly contrasts with those on the other digits. Although their brain 

 is but little developed, they have considerable intelligence, and are sus- 

 ceptible of training. They are in general of small size, and furnished 

 with a short or long tail, though some species are deprived of that 

 appendage. Their eyes are very salient, as befits their nocturnal mode 

 of life. 



At the approach of twilight they rouse themselves, smooth their fur, 

 utter their unpleasant cries and begin their nightly quest for food. The 

 cry of some of the species is alarming, as it resembles the roar of a beast 

 of pre3^ In hunting for food, they equal or even surpass the apes in 

 agility in climbing; they seem to have wings, so powerful are their 

 springs from bough to bough, so swift their ascent or descent of the tree- 

 trunks, so restless their ever-changing motions. They eat much, they 

 destroy more. 



I.— GENUS INDRIS. 



Indris is the name given to this genus by the traveler Sonnerat, 

 and the word is said to be in the Malagasay language not the 

 name of an animal, but an exclamation " See here ! Look ! " which the 

 stranger misapprehended. The natives of Madagascar call the Indris 

 the " Man of the Woods," because of its resemblance, though slight, to 

 ourselves. It is the most highly developed of the family. The head is 

 small, the fore-limbs not much shorter than the hind-ones, and its power- 

 ful thumbs, perfectly opposable on all feet to the remaining fingers, are 

 admirable instruments for climbing. The tail is short, the eyes small, 

 the ears hidden in the fur. This fur — thick, almost woolly — covers the 



