150 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



region west of Fort Dauphin. More than two centuries then elapsed 

 before they were rediscovered and named by Grandidier. 



They inhabit the arid coasts in the south and the southwest, from 

 Andrahoumbe to the Tsidsibon River. They are always found in 

 bands of 10 to 12 individuals. They are diurnal and feed upon young 

 shoots of trees and upon fruits. (Grandidier, 1867a, p. 84, and 

 1867c, p. 313.) 



In 1866 Grandidier encountered this Sifaka some leagues north 

 of the village of the Antandroy king, Tsifanihy, in the vicinity of 

 Cape Ste. Marie. Here he found it regarded with a certain venera- 

 tion by the natives; they objected to his skinning and dissecting a 

 specimen in their village, and they buried the remains ceremoniously 

 at some distance from the village. Later he secured a large number 

 at various points on the southwestern coast, especially along the 

 Morondava River, and at one time he had 15 living individuals. The 

 natives capture them by means of snares in the clearings. The ani- 

 mals never lived long in captivity. (Milne Edwards and Grandidier, 

 1875a, pp. 308-311.) 



"This species was common on the Upper Siribihina River [inland 

 from Morondava], and at a locality twenty-five kilometers east of 

 Tulear" (G. M. Allen, 1918, p. 515). 



Petit (1931, p. 559) records a specimen from the vicinity of An- 

 droka, in the Mahafaly country. 



The Mission Zoologique Franco-Anglo-Americaine of 1929-31 

 collected 18 specimens (Delacour, 1932, p. 220) . 



"The brown-capped Propithecus was very common in the wooded 

 areas of the southwest. A diurnal, arboreal creature, it was usually 

 seen in parties of five to eight. . . . 



"They were usually not at all wild and could be watched at close 

 range. . . . Near Tulear ... a group in the trees by the roadside" 

 was noticed. 



"Green leaves of trees are probably their staple food. . . . The 

 animals were often seen to feed on leaves and the young one I kept 

 for a time ate them eagerly." (Rand, 1935, pp. 100-101.) 



This Sifaka has become rare in the Manampetsa Reserve in the 

 southwest (Petit, 1935, p. 474) . 



CoquerePs Sifaka. Propitheque de Coquerel (Fr.) 



PROPITHECUS VERREAUXI COQUERELI A. Milne-Edwards 



Propithecus Coquereli A. Milne-Edwards, in Grandidier, Rev. Mag. Zool., 

 ser. 2, vol. 19, p. 314, 1867. ("Nord-est" = probably northwestern Mada- 

 gascar.) 



SYNONYM: Propithecus damonis J. E. Gray (1870). 



FIGS.: Milne Edwards and Grandidier, 18756, pi. 6; Forbes, 1894, vol. 1, 

 pi. 11; Kaudern, 1915, pi. 1, fig. 1. 



