XVII HABITS AND DISTRIBUTION OF 7ARSJUS Eu it 
there is, however, a gap left to mark the Lemurine characters of 
the animal. The placenta, too, has been compared to that of the 
Apes. The dental formula is that of the genus Lemur, save for 
the absence of an incisor on each side of the lower jaw; the 
number of teeth is therefore thirty-four. The incisors of the 
lower jaw are upright, and not procumbent as in other Lemurs. 
The caecum is of moderate length. The brain is almost smooth, 
but there is a Sylvian fissure and an antero-temporal, which latter 
does not reach the lower margin of 
the brain, but divides the middle part 
of the temporal lobe. The name 
Tarsier, as may be inferred, was 
originally given to this creature by 
Buffon on account of the abnormal 
ankle, and it was compared by him 
with the Jerboa, like which animal 
the Tarsier leaps when it descends to 
the ground. The genus is Malayan, 
but its range extends to the Philip- 
pines and to Celebes and Borneo. 
The Tarsiers are nocturnal and parti- 
cularly arboreal; they live in pairs, 
in holes in tree stems, and are mainly 
insectivorous in their food. One, 
rarely two young are produced at a Tic. 264.—Right pes of Tarsius 
tT \ 7 <! : : spectrum. (Nat. size.) a, Astra- 
birth. Contrary to what 18 found Haan Secloenern ae eteranl 
many Lemurs, the Tarsier is a silent — cuneiform; c?, middle cunei- 
ture. and at t its a “sharv form; c®, external cuneiform ; 
creature, and at most emits a “sharp, cuboid: n, navicular; 1-V, 
shrill call.’ Dr. Charles Hose, who the digits. (From  Flower’s 
2 : : Osteoloqy. 
has studied this creature, has noticed atentey) 
that the mother often carries her young one about in her mouth 
like a Cat. Like so many Lemurs this animal is held in super- 
stitious dread, which no doubt is the result of its most weird 
appearance.' 
Fossil Lemurs.—The Lemuroids are a very ancient race ; 
they extend back to the very earliest strata of the Eocene, the 
Torrejon and Puerco beds, which, as already said, are thought to 
be more referable to the Cretaceous than to the Tertiary epoch. 
1 For a survey of the position of Tarsius, see Earle, Amer. Naturalist, xxxi. 
1897, p. 569; and Nat. Science, x. 1897, p. 309. 
