372 BRANCH CHORDATA 



Geologic Distribution. — Bats appear for the first time in the 

 Eocene Epoch, according to the records of the rocks. ^ 



Order XI. Prima'tes. — This order includes all animals with 

 hands and hand-like feet. With but a few exceptions the 

 members of this order inhabit the tropics. Except in man, they 

 reach their highest development near the equator. Hornaday 

 says that there is no human being of sound mind to whom the 

 human likeness of the lower Primates does not appeal. They 

 are, at any rate, very much like man in their structural develop- 

 ment. As a rule, they have five fingers and toes, each covered 

 at the tip by a flat nail. The inner finger or toe, or both, are 

 opposable, making the hand, and often the foot, a grasping organ. 

 The feet are plantigrade. The limbs are quite free from the 

 body, as compared with those of other chordates. The skull of 

 the Anthropoi'dea is characterized by the bony partition between 

 the orbital and temporal vacuities. The stomach is simple. 

 The cecum is always present and sometimes large. They are 

 chiefly arljoreal, except terrestrial man. 



The sub-order Lemuroi'dea includes the aye-aye, tarsier, and 

 the lemurs. The head lacks the human-like expression, being 

 more like a fox, with a sharp muzzle. There are no cheek 

 pouches. The tail, which is never prehensile, varies from none, 

 in Loris, to the long and bushy tail of the " aye-aye." The 

 thumb and great toe are well developed and the second toe has 

 a sharp nail unlike the flat nail of the other digits. The brain 

 case is small and the temporal and orbital fossae are in com- 

 munication. The placenta is non-deciduate. The vermiform 

 appendix is never present and the cecum varies in length. 

 They are now found only in Madagascar, tropical Africa, and the 

 Orient. In the Tertiary Period the ancestors of these animals 

 were scattered all over the globe. 



The lemurs {Lemur'idoe) have round heads with fox-like muzzles, small 

 ears, and a long tail (Fig. 297). The wooly fur, which is often beautifully 

 tinted, is soft and thick. In size they vary from that of the squirrel to that 

 of the cat. They are omnivorous, and, as a rule, diurnal or crepuscular. 

 They are found in Madagascar. In trees they run about on all fours, but on 

 the ground they walk erect on their liind h^s. The one or two young are 

 carried about by the mother as they cliiiji to lier breasts, or, later, ride upon 

 her back. One of the most interesting is the ring-tailed lemur, which 



1 Scott's " Geology," p. 506. 



