— 100 — 



King-Tailed Lemurs been found. (In Recherches sur 

 la Faune de Madagascar, H. Sclilegel says : " Cette 



espece habite les forets de la partie Sud-Ouesfc de 



Madagascar, efc elle n'a jamais ete observee dans les 

 autres parties de I'lle." This however is not univer- 

 sally accepted as a fact). Their habitat in the South 

 and S. West is among the rocks over which they can 

 easily travel, where it is impossible for people, although 

 bare-footed, to follow. An examination of their hands 

 will show that they are preeminently adapted for this 

 kind of locomotion. The palms are long, smooth, 

 level, and leather-like ; and enable the animal to find 

 a firm footing on the slippery wet rocks, very much 

 on the same principle as that which assists the fly to 

 walk up a pane of glass. The thumbs on the hinder 

 hands are very much smaller in proportion than in 

 the Lemurs inhabiting the forests, which depend upon 

 their grasping power for their means of progression. 

 These spring from tree to tree, and rarely if ever, 

 touch the ground except in search of water. — Hence 

 the King-Tailed Lemurs are an exception to the ge- 

 neral habits of the Lemuridae, in that they are not 

 arboreal. There are very few trees near their district j 

 and those which do grow there, are very stunted and 

 bushy. — These Lemurs are provided with two long 

 canine teeth or fangs in the upper jaw, those of the 

 male being considerably longer than those of the 

 female. These they use to take away the outer coating 

 pf the fruit of the prickly pear, which is full of fine 



