THE SPECTRE TARSIER. II5 



uncommonly broad, the mouth opens as far back as the eyes, and the 

 lips are thick. The eyes are immense owl-like eyes, quite out of propor- 

 tion to the size of the animal. They literally occupy the greatest part 

 of the face and are close together. The ears are no less peculiar; they are 

 like large broad spoons. The neck is scarcely to be distinguished, the 

 shoulders are high, the breast narrower than the back. The fore-legs 

 are remarkable for their shortness, the hinder ones for their length. The 

 hands are very long in proportion to the arms, the middle finger is 

 almost thrice the length of the thumb, which again is less than the little 

 finger, and the tips of all the fingers have large cushions like balls. The 

 thighs are powerful and thick, the lower leg thin, the tarsi dried up and 

 fleshless. The color is a yellowish-gray, flecked with reddish-brown, the 

 tuft on the tail is yellow, a stripe of deeper hue surrounds the back of the 

 head, and the face and forehead have a warmer tint than the body. It 

 lives in trees and skips about with short leaps like a frog. 



The natives regard the Spectre tarsier as an enchanted animal, and 

 affirm that it was once as large as a lion; they fly at once from their 

 fields when one of these creatures is seen on a neighboring tree. In 

 captivity it is cleanl)-, particularly in its food ; it never tastes anything 

 half-eaten, or drinks twice from the same water. Propped up on its 

 thin legs and bare tail, with its enormous yellow eyes, it looks like a 

 dark-lantern on a tripod. 



THE CHEIROMYID^e. 



This family consists of a species which must be considered the most 

 extraordinary which is known to naturalists. It is a specialized form of 

 the Lemuroid type, and like the Lemurs belongs to that isle of won- 

 ders — Madagascar. 



THE AYE-AYE. 



The Aye-Aye, CJuiromys Madagascariensis, (Plate III) was first seen 

 about one hundred years ago. It was unknown at that period to the 

 people of Madagascar, and the name of Aye-Aye given to it by Sonnerat, 

 was due to the exclamation of the natives of that island when this traveler 

 showed it to them for the first time. 



For a long time it was undecided what place to assign to the Aye-Aye 

 among the Mammalia. This indecision arose from ambiguous organic 



