THE TARSIER. 



99 



as those of the Galago, and the tail is less thickly covered with fur, being almost devoid of hair, 

 except at its extremity, where it forms a small tuft. On reference to the figure, it will be seen 

 that the hands are of extraordinary length, in proportion to the size of the creature. This pecu- 

 liarity is caused by a considerable elongation of the bones composing the "Tarsus," or back 

 of the hands and feet, and has earned for the animal the title of TARSIER. This peculiarity is 

 more strongly developed in the hinder than in the fore-paws. 



The color of the Tarsier is a grayish-brown, with slight olive tint washed over the body. 

 A stripe of deeper color surrounds the back of the head, and the face and forehead are of a 

 warmer brown than the body and limbs. 

 It is a native of Borneo, Celebes, the 

 Philippine Islands, and Banca. From 

 the latter locality it is sometimes called 

 the Banca Tarsier. Another of the titles 

 by which it is known, is the Podji. 



It is a tree-inhabiting animal, and 

 skips among the branches with little 

 quick leaps that have been likened to 

 the hoppings of a frog. In order to give 

 the little creature a firmer hold of the 

 boughs about which it is constantly leap- 

 ing, the palms of the hands are furnished 

 with several cushions. The back of the 

 hands are covered with soft downy far, 

 resembling the hair with which the tail is 

 furnished. Excepting on the hands and 

 tail, the fur is very thick and of a woolly 

 character, but at the root of the tail, and 

 at the wrists and ankles, it suddenly 

 changes to the short downy covering. 



The true position of that very rare 

 animal the AYE- AYE, seems very doubt- 

 ful, some naturalists placing it in the 

 position which it occupies in this work, 

 and others, such as Van der Hoeven, 

 considering it to form a link between 

 the monkeys and the rodent animals. 



As will be seen by a reference to 

 the figure, in its head and general shape 

 it resembles the Galagos, but in the 

 number and arrangement of its teeth it 

 approaches the rodent type. There are 

 no canine teeth, and the incisors are 

 arranged in a manner similar to those 

 of the rodents, the chief difference being 

 that, instead of the chisel-like edge which distinguishes the incisor teeth of the gnawing animals, 

 those of the Aye-aye are sharply pointed. These curious teeth are extremely powerful, and are 

 very deeply set in the jaw-bones, their sockets extending neary the entire depth of the bone. 



The color of the animal is a rusty brown on the upper portions of the body, the under 

 parts, as well as the cheeks and throat, being of a light gray. The paws are nearly black. 

 The fur of the body is thickly set, and is remarkable for an inner coating of downy hair of a 

 golden tint, which sometimes shows itself through the outer coating. On the tail the hair is 

 darker than on the body, greater in length, and in texture much coarser. The tail seems to be 

 always trailed at length, and never to be set up over the body, like the well-known tail of the 

 squirrel. The ears are large, and nearly destitute of hair. 



TAE8IER TarAus spectrum. 



