HAPALEMUR GRISEUS 

 THE GENTLE LEMURS 



English vernacular names are not as a rule particu- 

 larly full of accurate meaning, for in many cases they 

 are mere translations of a scientific name of Greek 

 origin which may have a dim applicability in that 

 tongue to some one, and that not always a striking, 

 peculiarity of the animal so named, but which are apt 

 to lose that faint significance when translated. The 

 lemurs which form the subject of the present article 

 are known to zoologists as Hapalemur, and there are 

 two species, viz. H. simus and H. griseus, both of which 

 are confined to Madagascar. This " simple lemur " is 

 not, however, to be altogether trusted to keep up its 

 alleged gentleness of disposition. It is furnished, as 

 are other lemurs, with a row of closely set projecting 

 serrated and sharp teeth in the front of the lower jaw, 

 a marked lemurian characteristic, which could give a 

 respectable nip to any one entrusting an enquiring fore- 

 finger to it. This little grey- coloured animal is nearly 

 always represented at the Zoo ; at any rate, it is almost 

 certain that the commoner species, H. griseus, will be 

 found in one of the side cages of the monkey house. 

 Not so frequently, however, the larger broad-nosed 

 form. This, like other lemurs, has acquired its general 

 name of lemur from its quiet and nocturnal, and, there- 

 fore, somewhat ghostly, habits. Not that it is alto- 

 gether silent ; indeed, H . simus is said by Mr. Shaw to 

 possess at least two modes of utterance which may 

 correspond to diverse feelings. It may quack like a 

 duck or scream. It is vegetarian and insectivorous, 

 and a constant if not a greedy feeder. The lemurs in 

 general form a race which has its present headquarters 

 in Madagascar, though a few forms are found in Africa 

 and even in the East. But in the past epochs of the 

 world's history lemurs were European and American 



