The Living Animals of the World 



Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons. 



TARSIER. 



These little animals hop about in the trees like frogs. They are nocturnal, and seldom 



seen. 



THE AYE-AYE. 



Last, and most remarkable 

 of all these weird lemuroids, is 

 the A YE- AYE. It is placed in a 

 group by itself, and has teeth like 

 those of the Eodents, a large 

 bushy tail, and most extra- 

 ordinarily long, slender fingers, 

 which it probably uses for pick- 

 ing caterpillars and grubs out of 

 rotten wood. It is nearly as large 

 as an Arctic fox, but its habits 

 are those of a lemur. In Mada- 

 gascar it haunts the bamboo 

 forests, feeding on the juice of 

 sugar-cane, grubs, and insects. 

 The fingers of its hands are of 

 different sizes and lengths, though 

 all are abnormally long and slender. 

 The second finger seems to have 

 " wasted," but is said to be of 

 the utmost value to its owner in 

 extracting grubs and insects from 

 the burrows in which they dwell, or the crannies in which they may have taken refuge. Very 

 seldom is this animal seen alive in captivity. Although commonly called Aye-aye in this 

 country, it is doubtful if this is really its native name. The aye-aye was long a puzzle to 

 naturalists, but is now classed as a lemuroid. 



THE living races of animals have thus far been reviewed along the completed list of the 

 first great order the Primates. Even in that circumscribed group how great is the tendency 

 to depart from the main type, and how wonderful the adaptation to meet the various needs 

 of the creatures' environment ! The skeletons, the frames on which 

 these various beings are built up, remain the same in character; 

 but the differences of proportion in the limbs, of the muscles 

 with which they are equipped, and of the weight of the bodies to 

 be moved are astonishing. Compare, for instance, the head of the 

 male Gorilla, with its great ridges of bone, to which are attached 

 the muscles which enable it to devour hard tropical fruits and 

 bite off young saplings and bamboos, with the rounded and 

 delicate head of the Insect-eating Monkeys of South Africa; or 

 set side by side the hand of the Chimpanzee with that of the Aye- 

 aye, with its delicate, slender fingers, like those of a skeleton 

 hand. What could be more diverse than the movements of these 

 creatures, whose structure is nevertheless so much alike ? Some of 

 the lemuroids are as active as squirrels, flying lightly from branch 

 to branch ; in others, as the Slow Lorises, the power of rapid move- 

 ment has disappeared, and been replaced by a creeping gait which 

 cannot be accelerated. Already, in a single order, we see the rich 

 diversity of nature, and its steady tendency to make all existing 

 things serviceable by adapting other parts of creation to their use 

 or enjoyment. 



Photo by L. Midland, F.Z.S., N. Finchley. 

 HEAD OF AYE-AYE. 



The aye-aye lives mainly in the wild, 

 sugar-cane gro% - es, and feeds on insects and 

 grubs, as well as on the juice of the sugar- 

 cane. 



