198 A COURSE ON ZOOLOGY. 



The lemurs form the lowest group of the Primates : 

 they appear to form a connecting link between the 

 monkeys and the insectivora. They are interesting 



FIG. 121. 



RING-TAILED LEMUR (Lemur catta). 



little animals ; many of the species are nocturnal in their 

 habits, living almost entirely in trees, where they feed on 

 fruit, young sprouts, birds' eggs, and even small birds 

 and insects; they can be easily tamed. There are a 

 number of species, most of them being found only in 

 Madagascar ; some few are found in Malaya, and others 

 in Africa. All are adapted for climbing, and their pow- 

 erful hind limbs enable them to make extraordinary 

 leaps, one of the species passing readily from tree to tree 

 at a distance as great as ten yards. 



