CHIROMYID& 



695 



developed and distinct from the tibia. All the digits of lx)th feet 

 with pointed rather compressed claws, except the hallux, which has 

 a flattened nail. Middle digit of the hand excessively attenuated. 

 Vertebrae : C 7, D 12, L 6, S 3, C 27. 



Chiromys. 1 This family, like the last, is formed for the recep- 

 tion of a single genus, Chiromys, 2 containing one species, C. mada- 

 gascarienxis, the Aye-aye, an animal about the size of a cat, with a 

 broad rounded head, short face, and large and naked ears. It has 

 very large hands and long thin fingers with pointed claws, one of 

 which (the middle 

 or third) is remark- 

 able for its extreme 

 slenderness. The 

 foot resembles that 

 of the other lemurs 

 in its large opposable 

 hallux, with a flat 

 nail, but all the 

 other toes have 

 pointed compressed 

 claws, like that of 

 the second toe in 

 the Lemurince and 



,i -i i ,1. i FIG. 331. Skull of Ave-aye (C/uVowi/s mailagascariensis). X* 



the second and third )Ius g^ Coll s ^ rgeons : 



in the Tarsiidce. Tail 



long and bushy. General colour dark brown, the outer fur being 

 long and rather loose, with a woolly undercoat. Mammae two, 

 inguinal in position. It is a native of Madagascar, where it was 

 discovered by Sonnerat in 1780. The specimen brought to Paris by 

 that traveller was the only one known until 1860. Since then many 

 others have been obtained, and they may frequently be seen living in 

 the gardens of the Zoological Society of London. Like so many of 

 the Lemurs, the Aye-aye is completely nocturnal in its habits, living 

 either alone or in pairs, chiefly in the bamboo forests. Observations 

 upon captive specimens have led to the conclusion that it feeds princi- 

 pally on succulent juices, especially of the sugar-cane, which it obtains 

 by tearing open the hard woody circumference of the stalk with its 

 strong incisor teeth. It is said also to devour certain species of 

 wood -boring caterpillars, which it obtains by first cutting down 

 with its teeth upon their burrows, and then picking them out 

 of their retreat with the claw of its attenuated middle finger. It 



1 Cuvier, "Table de Class." in Ltsons d'Anat. Comp. vol. i. (1800). 



'- It was first named Daubeitionia by Geoffrey ; but this name was withdrawn 

 by its author in favour of Chiromys, as it had been previously given to a genus 

 in the vegetable kingdom. This would not, however, constitute preoccupation 

 according to the modern rules of nomenclature. 



