152 THE AYE-AYE. 



in dimensions. The tail is covered with long coarse 

 hair, and possesses no prehensile power ; the ears 

 are large, upright, and ovate in form, the head 

 compressed towards the nose, the eyes being 

 directed forwards in a peculiar manner, and not 

 placed laterally as in rodents. In colour they are 

 of a light brownish yellow, and extremely suscep- 

 tible of light, as might be expected from the habits 

 of the animal, which are exclusively nocturnal, 

 more so indeed than those of the lemurs. The 

 upper part of the body is covered with long black- 

 ish fur, white hairs being here and there scattered 

 over the surface, which gives it a grizzled look ; 

 the chest and abdomen are grey, as are the cheeks 

 and sides of the head. Its chief point of resem- 

 blance to the monkeys is in the form of the fore- 

 hands, which possess all the grasping power found 

 in that class ; the middle finger, however, instead 

 of being but slightly longer than the rest, is con- 

 siderably lengthened ; and being very thin, acts as 

 a sort of probe, by which wood-boring larvsD can 

 be drawn from their hiding places. This fact has 

 been observed from watching the habits of an aye- 

 aye in confinement. Several branches had been 

 placed in the cage to serve as a kind of gymnastic 

 apparatus. These branches had been tunnelled by 

 insects, and soon after their introduction the 

 animal, as if catching some slight sound, was 



