THE INDRI LEMUR 203 





 the lemurs used to lead to the unfortunate creatures being put to a cruel death. 



None of the lemurs attain any very large size, and all of them, when unmolested, 

 are perfectly harmless and inoffensive animals, except to the birds, reptiles, and 

 insects upon which they prey. The nostrils of a lemur, which are always situated 

 at the extremity of the muzzle', differ markedly in form from those of a monkey. 

 In all the latter, whether they be thin nosed like the Old World kinds, or broad 

 nosed like those of America, the nostrils are always more or less rounded in form, 

 and thus approach to the human type. In lemurs, on the other hand, the nostrils 

 are always in the form of a curved slit widest above, and with the convexity 

 directed outwardly, as is well shown in the figure on p. 206. The nostrils of a 

 lemur are in fact almost precisely similar to those of a dog or a cat, and we have in 

 this another proof of a relatively low zoological position. 



In the lemurs proper, the first point to be noticed is that the upper front, or 

 incisor teeth are always two in number on either side of the jaw, and that the 

 middle pair are separated from one another by a distinct gap. The upper premolar 

 teeth may be either two, as in the Old World monkeys, or three, as in their cousins 

 of the New World ; the molars being invariably three in number. The front teeth 

 in the lower jaw, together with the one corresponding to the tusk, or canine, always 

 shelve forward and are of small size. This small size and shelving direction of 

 the lower tusk render it necessary that some other tooth should be enlarged so as 

 to bite against the upper tusk. And we accordingly find that the first premolar in 

 the lower jaw takes on the form and size of a tusk, and bites against the true tusk, 

 or canine tooth of the upper jaw. It has been mentioned in the introductory chap- 

 ter that whereas true tusks, or canines, have usually but a single root, premolar 

 teeth nearly always have two roots, except when there are four of these teeth, in 

 which case the first generally has but one root. Now the tusk-like lower premolar 

 of the lemurs has the usual two roots, and hence we have a ready means of dis- 

 tinguishing a lemur's skull from that of most other Mammals ; that is to say, by 

 the lower tusk having two distinct roots. 



The last feature we shall mention as being distinctive of the lemurs proper, is 

 that, with the exception of the second toe of the foot, all the fingers and all the toes 

 have well-formed flattened nails like those of the majority of monkeys. 



THE INDRI LEMUR 

 Genus Indris 



The peculiar-looking animal represented in the illustration on the next page is 

 one of the numerous lemurs from Madagascar, and occupies the proud position of 

 being the largest member of the entire group. It is likewise the sole representative 

 of its genus ; and in scientific parlance is designated Indris brevicaudata, its second 

 title referring to its apology for a tail. The name indri, or indris, is a coiruption 

 from the native name Endrina, used in certain districts by the inhabitants of 

 Madagascar for this animal. In other districts it is, however, designated Babakoto, 

 or "little old man." 



