THE OTHER BEASTS 343 



leaping from tree to tree without apparent effort, some- 

 times for a distance of ten yards. On the ground they 

 go erect, but effect their progression there in a very 

 ludicrous fashion. Standing upright, they hold their 

 arms over their heads, and then make a series of short 

 jumps ; they are gentle animals, but somewhat stupid. 

 They sleep at night and during the heat of the day, but 

 are active morning and evening. Their food consists 

 mainly of birds, flowers, and fruits (Fig. 86). 



Certain small nocturnal lemuroids also inhabit 

 Madagascar. They are of small size, some being smaller 

 than a rat. Their most interesting structural peculi- 

 arity, of a permanent nature, lies in their ankles. 

 Instead of these parts consisting (as they do in ourselves, 

 monkeys, and almost all other beasts) of a group of 

 short bones only, two of them are elongated and lie side 

 by side, so adding an additional segment to the limb one 

 intermediate between the leg and the foot. They have 

 also another interesting peculiarity of a temporary nature, 

 this is their tendency to accumulate a quantity of fat in 

 certain parts of the body, especially at the root of the 

 tail, which becomes of an exceedingly large size. 

 This peculiarity of structure is related to a peculiarity 

 of habit : for during the dry season they retire into the 

 holes of trees, coil themselves up and pass the whole 

 period in sleep, as bats with us hibernate in winter. 

 When, with the advent of the rainy season, they rouse 

 themselves again, their fat has disappeared : having 

 served to nourish them during their period of torpor. 



All the lemuroids yet noted are inhabitants of Mada- 

 gascar, but another group, called galagos, are none of 

 them found within that island, but all of them are exclu- 

 sively inhabitants of Africa south of the Sahara, they 

 are active only at night when they feed on fruits, 



