PRIMATES APES AND LEMURS 401 



to Ethiopian and Oriental regions. Although so restricted at 

 the present day, fossil remains show that the Lemurs were more 

 widely distributed over the earth in past times. 



The Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta), with its pretty chinchilla- 

 grey tints, and banded tail of black and grey rings, is perhaps 

 one of the most familiar of the Lemur tribe. Its hind-limbs con- 

 siderably exceed the fore-limbs in length, giving the animal a 

 curious attitude of back-arching when on the ground. The face 

 is pointed, and the eyes large, soft, and expressive. The fore- 

 foot is a kind of diminutive flat-nailed hand, with a proportionately 

 short thumb, and is hairy above but naked below, and all the 

 fingers have expanded cushions on their last joints. The hand 

 is not capable of being closely clenched, and the thumb only reaches 

 to the middle of the palm. The hind-feet are large, and there is 

 a strong great-toe-thumb. Moreover, a true claw adorns the 

 next toe, and in many other respects there is a certain agreement 

 between the foot and the hand. Both are black-soled, and have 

 a wonderful tracing of pronounced cross-lines, furrows, and folds. 

 The mammae, or teats, are two in number, and are placed near the 

 armpits. Usually the species of Lemur have but one, or at most 

 two, little ones at a birth, and the period of gestation is about one 

 hundred and ten days, the young Lemur being born almost naked. 

 Its hairs are short and sparsely distributed, except on the head, 

 where they form a kind of belt around the eyes. It clings to its 

 mother's fur, and, holding on to that over her abdomen, it lies 

 across her, so that when she draws up her legs she either hides 

 the little one effectually, or it may be seen, hairless, in the folds 

 of her groins. After a while, and as the young Lemur becomes 

 better clothed and stronger, it leaves its snug retreat, crawls up 

 on to the mother's back and shoulders, seizes her fur, and 

 holds on with such tenacity that she can jump and bound 

 about without unseating her little burthen. Social, and banding 

 together in troops, Lemurs feed on the fruits of the forest, and 

 occasionally, it is stated, on insects and small birds. The Weasel 

 Lemur, Black Lemur, White-fronted Lemur, and Ruffed Lemur 

 are easily recognised by their popular names, and call for no 

 special description. 



The African Slow Lemurs are a very sad, weird, slow-going 

 set, totally different from the active creatures just described. 



2A 



