LEMURS. 



(Nov. 30, 1889.) 



NEARLY one half of the wall-cages in the Monkey 

 House are occupied by lemurs, which attract much 

 less attention from ordinary visitors than do their 

 neighbours and distant relations, the monkeys, the 

 result, no doubt, of their less human appearance 

 and quieter habits. Never theless, they are ex- 

 tremely interesting animals, whether from the 

 point of view of the naturalist, or simply of the 

 unscientific lover of pets. 



Scientifically the Lemuroids are placed next in 

 order to the monkeys and form the second sub- 

 order of the Primates, and to quote from the very 

 excellent guide to the Mammalia in the British 

 Museum : " This sub-order consists of a number 

 of very remarkable animals of a far lower type 

 than the monkeys; they are for the most part 

 natives of Madagascar, although a few aberrant 

 members of the group are found in Africa and 

 Southern Asia. They are invariably arboreal in 

 their habits, with generally long, bushy, and non- 

 prehensile tails, opposable thumbs and great toes 

 large eyes, and long dog-like faces." They are 

 divided into three families the Lemuridae, 



