THE LEMURS. 



81 



Thus the so-called 

 Dwarf Lemur (Mi- 

 crocebtis myoxinus} 

 shows such an elon- 

 gation of the scaph- 

 oid and calcaneum as 

 to remind us of the 

 Galagos of Africa, 

 and to serve as the 

 type of a sub-family 

 known as the Macro- 

 tarsi. In the Weasel 

 Lemurs (Lepidile- 

 mur) the upper in- 

 cisors are shed very 

 early without leav- 

 ing any traces, and 

 the short canines 

 and blunt -tubercled 

 molars indicate, as 

 in the Hapalemurs, 

 a more purely vege- 

 table diet, which, in- 

 deed, seems to be 

 proved in the case of the latter genus at 

 least, since only bamboo leaves have been 

 found in the stomach. 

 The greatly enlarged 

 caecal expansion of the 

 stomach and the long 

 csecum in all lemurs 

 point to the same 

 kind of nourishment. 

 Slight variations in 

 the structure of the 

 hands and feet, in 

 the number of the 

 teats, and so on, have 

 served as means for 

 distinguishing the 

 genera. 



All the lemurs have 

 a rounded skull with 

 more or less project- 

 ing muzzle, so that 

 the names of Fox 



Fig. 25. Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta). page 83. 



where the fur is 

 mostly short. The 



Fig. 26. The Dwarf Lemur (Microcebus myoxinus}. page 83. 



(Ring-tailed) 1 Lemur 

 (Lemur catta) and 

 Cat (Mouse) Lemur 

 (Chirogaleus) have 

 been applied to cer- 

 tain forms on ac- 

 count of a general 

 resemblance in ex- 

 ternal form to the 

 animals named. The 

 ears are of medium 

 size and abundantly 

 covered with hair, 

 never naked. The 

 eyes are rather small 

 than large for noc- 

 turnal animals. The 

 nostrils are at the 

 end of the muzzle. 

 The whole face, as 

 well as the backs of 

 the hands and feet, 

 are thinly covered 

 with hair, but else- 

 thick, fine, woolly, and 

 two pairs of limbs, ex- 

 cept in the Macrotarsi, 

 are almost equal in 

 length; the pollex 

 (thumb) is less devel- 

 oped than the hallux 

 (great toe). All the 

 digits, except the claw- 

 bearing second digit 

 of the hind -feet, are 

 covered with flat or 

 sometimes slightly 

 arched nails. The tail 

 is mostly longer than 

 the body, and bushy, 

 like that of a squirrel. 

 The colour of the 



1 The first name is a translation 

 of that used in German, the one 

 in parentheses the name used by 



Enclish writers. TR. 



11 



