LECT. VIII.] DIET OF THE AYE- AYE. 197 



from year to year, but many hands will be wanted to 

 make light work of this question. One kind of Lemur, 

 which I have studied in a sub-adult condition (Cheiro- 

 galeus Smithii) from Madagascar, is much smaller than 

 a Norway Rat, and yet its skull has a very human look. 

 Another, a larger kind (Lepilemur), pleases me vastly : 

 it has a very curious dentition in front, like that 

 of a Ruminant Sheep or Cow. 



In this kind the upper incisor teeth are nearly all 

 suppressed, and the lower are all like chisels ; this den- 

 tition is quite similar to that of our familiar even- 

 toed cattle ; and, if found in some generalised type of 

 ancient herbivorous Lemurs, would assuredly be set down 

 as a prolepsis, or anticipation, of those noble recent 

 beasts. Madagascar is the great home of the Lemuroids, 

 although they are found on the mainland of Africa 

 and Asia, and on certain islands contiguous to these 

 continents. The most startling form of the Lemu- 

 roids is a native of Madagascar ; this is the Aye- Aye, 

 Cheiromys. In this type, in the adult, the dentition 

 is very similar to that of the Squirrel, whilst the fingers 

 are elongated into long, pointed structures, that seem to 

 be the wing of a Bat, in process of making. Some say 

 that the Aye- Aye pokes large grubs out of deep holes 

 in trees with these curious fingers ; I have seen him, 

 through Mr Bartlett's kindness, dip his long knuckles 

 into a sweetened, half-liquid diet, and then, as 

 though he were a cook, draw the convex surface of 



