92 



THE LEMURS. 



The color of the hair is nearly uniform, but not quite so. On the paws it darkens con- 

 siderably, and it is of a deeper tint on the forehead and the upper surface of the limbs than on 

 the remainder of the body. Some specimens are wholly of a darker hue. In no place is the 

 fur very short ; but on the head, and about the shoulders, it is of very great length in propor- 

 tion to the size of the animal. 



The Marikina is rightly careful of its beautiful clothing, and is fastidious to a degree about 

 preserving its glossy brightness free from stain. Whether when wild, it keeps its own house 



clean, or whether it has no house at all, is 

 not as yet accurately ascertained ; but in 

 captivity, it requires that all cleansing shall 

 be performed by other hands. This sloth- 

 fulness is the more peculiar, because the 

 creature is so sensitive on the subject, that 

 if it be in the least neglected, it loses its 

 pretty gaiety, pines away and dies. 



It is fond of company, and can seldom 

 be kept alone for any length of time. The 

 food of the Marikina is chiefly composed 

 of fruits and insects ; but in captivity, it 

 will eat biscuit and drink milk. It is a 

 very timid animal, unable to fight a foe, 

 but quick in escape, and adroit in con- 

 cealment. Its voice is soft and gentle 

 when the animal is pleased, but when it is 

 excited by anger or fear, it utters a rather 

 sharp hiss. The dimensions of the Mari- 

 kina are much the same as those of the 

 Pinche. 



The Marmosets (JaccJms) are repre- 

 sented by several species, all very small, 

 and delicate in their features. They have 

 much the same habits as the squirrels. 

 Being so petite they readily climb out 

 upon the slender branches of trees, where 

 they rob nests of birds and prey upon 

 their eggs. 



The little caricatures of a lion seen in some of the species, are highly suggestive of the 

 king of beasts in the full array of flowing mane. 



THE LEMURS. 



THE form of the monkeys which are known by the name of Lemurs, is of itself sufficient 

 to show that we are rapidly approaching the more quadrupedal mammalia, the which, how- 

 ever, we shall only reach through the wing-handed animals, or bats, and the strangely formed 

 flying-monkey, which seems to span the gulf between the monkeys and bats. 



The head of all the Lemurs is entirely unlike the usual monkey head, and even in the 

 skull the distinction is as clearly marked as in the living being. Sharp, long, and pointed, 

 the muzzle and jaws are singularly fox-like, while the general form of these animals, and 

 the mode in which they walk, would lead a hasty observer to place them among the true 

 quadrupeds. Yet, on a closer examination, the quadrumanous characteristics are seen so 

 plainly, that the Lemurs can but be referred to their proper position among, or rather, at the 

 end of, the monkey tribe. 



The word Lemur signifies a night-wandering ghost, and has been applied to this group 



