CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



which are not present in his jaws, but exist in all 

 other Mammalia. 



Owen has divided them into three groups, 

 according to their anatomical characters and their 

 geographical distribution : 



Section (A). Strepsirhina, or Prosimia com- 

 prising the Lemurs and their allies, have the 

 muzzle prolonged, and the curved nostrils placed 

 at its extremity. All the four thumbs are well 

 developed and opposable, and the fore and hind 

 limbs have five toes each. The claw-like aspect 

 of the nail of the second digit of the hind-limb is 

 one of the most easily recognised characters of the 

 section. Madagascar is their chief geographical 

 centre. 



In the true Lemurs (Lemiirid<z\ all the digits 

 except the second toe of the hind-feet are covered 

 with flat nails. They have very large and hand- 

 some prehensile tails, which are elevated when 

 the animal is in motion. They are about the 

 size of a cat, but have longer limbs, and are 

 exclusively confined to the forests of Madagascar, 

 where they spring about from tree to tree in 

 search of their food, which consists principally of 

 fruits. They are nocturnal in their habits, and 

 are exceedingly active. 



The Nycticebus or Loris of which the Stenops 

 tardigradus, or Slow-paced Lori, is the best 

 known example have short ears, no tail, and 

 large approximating eyes, and are inhabitants of 

 India and the Eastern Archipelago. They are 

 nocturnal in their habits, and very slow in their 

 movements, hence they are called ' Slow Lemurs,' 

 and they feed principally on insects. 



With this group may also be placed the Aye- 

 aye (Cheiromys Madagascarensis), which has no 

 canine teeth, and a considerable interval between 



Aye-aye (Cheiromys Madagascarensis). 



its incisors and the molars. It is about the size 

 of a squirrel, and has a bushy tail. It feeds upon 

 larvae and insects, which it picks out of the crevices 

 of the bark of trees by night with its long slender 

 fingers. 



For convenience, we may place in this group a 

 remarkable animal, which seems to connect the 

 Insectivora with the Quadrumana. It is the 

 Galeopithecus, or Flying Lemur, which has the 

 integument stretched from the nape of the neck to 



190 



the fore-limb, and from the fore-limb to the hind- 

 limb. This is simply an integumentary expansion, 

 similar to that of the Flying Phalanger and the 

 Flying Squirrel, with which the animal can take 

 leaps from tree to tree. It feeds upon insects, 

 fruit, and eggs, and inhabits the Indian Archi- 

 pelago. 



Section (B). Platyrhina, or New-World Monkeys. 

 In the animals of this group, owing to the 

 septum of the nose being broad, the nostrils are 

 placed widely apart. In general, the thumbs of 

 the anterior members are not opposable, and they 

 are sometimes absent. Their tails are generally 

 prehensile. They are confined to the woods of 

 South America. They are divided into two 

 families. 



Family i. Halpalidce. They have ten grinders 

 in each jaw, like the Old-World monkeys, their 

 dental formula being : 



2 2 r i i 



9 v^ 



2 2 



I I 



P. 



3=3 M. = 32. 

 33 2-2 3 



Their tail is long, and usually bushy, but never 

 prehensile. The thumb of the hind-foot has a flat 

 nail, but all the other toes are unguiculate. They 

 are all diminutive animals, of pleasing forms, and 

 very active movements. The best known species 

 is the Common Marmoset (H. penicillata), which 

 is often domesticated or kept as a pet. Upwards 

 of thirty species have been described. 



Family 2. Cebidce, in which the grinders are 

 more numerous than in the Catarhina and in 

 Man, the dental formula being : 



I. 





22 



i i 



33 33 



They have neither cheek-pouches nor callosities, 

 which are usually present in the Old-World 

 Monkeys. The tail is prehensile, and capable of 

 being twisted round branches so firmly as entirely 



Spider Monkey (Ateles paniscus). 

 to support the weight of the animal. They subsist 



