ORDER PRIMATES: PRIMATES 133 



This is perhaps the best known of all the Madagascar lemurs, 

 and it still appears to be moderately common. 



The fur is soft and delicate; face and ears white; nose and area 

 about each eye black; top and back of head dark ashy; back and 

 sides of a redder ash color ; outer side of limbs light ashy ; upper sides 

 of paws whitish ; under parts and inner sides of limbs white ; tail with 

 broad alternate rings of black and white (Edwards, 1751, p. 197). 

 "Length of body and tail together, 40 inches" (Forbes, 1894, vol. 1, 

 p. 76). 



"This species, which inhabits rocky open country, is found in 

 south-western, southern, arid south-eastern Madagascar" (Schwarz, 

 1931, p. 410). 



"As far as my experience of seven years goes, these Lemurs are 

 found only in the south and south-western borders of the Betsileo 

 province of Madagascar." They are not found in the forests, but 

 among the rocks. "The prickly pear . . . constitutes their chief 

 article of winter food .... Their summer food consists of different 

 kinds of wild figs and bananas." (G. A. Shaw, 1879, pp. 132-133.) 



This species bears captivity well, and is everywhere offered for 

 sale by the natives (Kaudern, 1915, p. 50). 



Schwarz (1931, p. 410) records specimens from Tulear in the 

 southwest, and adds: "It has been found by van Dam at Moron- 

 dava, Matseroka, and the Bay of St. Augustin in the south-west, 

 and is recorded by him as far north-east as the region of Ft. 

 Dauphin." 



This species ranges over a vast area, from Mangoky on the 

 north to beyond Menarandra on the south. Decary records it in 

 Androy along all the rivers and as far as the region of Beloha. 

 Perrier de la Bathie has observed bands on the western parts of tho 

 massif of Andringitra. (Petit, 1931, p. 560.) 



Thirty specimens were collected by the Mission Zoologique Franco- 

 Anglo-Americaine of 1929-31 (Delacour, 1932, p. 219) . 



Rand (1935, p. 96) mentions observations on this lemur at 

 Ampotaka and Lake Tsimanampetsotsa and near Tulear. He also 

 writes (pp. 95-97) : "The ring-tailed lemur was found in and about 

 most of the more densely -wooded areas and the gallery forest in the 

 arid parts of southwestern Madagascar. 



"It is a diurnal and crepuscular creature .... 



"This animal, like most of the lemurs, is gregarious. It was usually 

 seen in parties of from four or five up to ten or fifteen and more. . . . 



"Wild specimens were seen to eat leaves of certain trees .... 



"They are often kept as pets by Europeans and are carried to 

 various parts of the island." 



At the Manampetsa Reserve in the southwest numerous bands 

 were seen in 1926, but the species was rare in 1933 (Petit, 1935, 

 p. 474). 



