1 December, 1901.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



200 



A REMARKABLE MAMMAL. 



Bv R. Lypekker. 



My ix'adei-s are not to iniagiuo that tlie animal whoso 

 portrait appears in this number of Knowledue is one 

 Kcw to science, or even one whose structure has hitherto 

 been imperfectly known. On the contrary, it has been 

 known to science for nearly a century and a quarter; 

 but it is altogether such a peeuliai- and interesting 

 creature that it may well form the text of an ai-ticle 

 in this journal. 



Like so many of its cousins the lemurs, the aye-aye 

 is an inhabitant of Madagascar, from the west coast of 

 which island the first specimen known to European 

 science was brought to Paris iu 17S0 by the Frencii 

 traveller Souucrat. w-lio discovered several other curious 

 mammals and bii-ds. By tho naturalists of that time. 

 despite the remarkable peculiarity in the structure of 

 the fore-paws mentioned later on iu this article, it was 

 i-egai-ded as a squirrel, and accordingly named Sciurus 

 niadaffaxcnrieiisif. It was. however, soon after apparent 

 that, whatever might bo its real affinities, it could not 

 rightly be retained in the same genus as the true 

 squurels ; and it was accordingly renamed, at first 

 Dduhtiiioiiia, and subsequeutly C/iiromt/s iClieiruinys). 

 Tho justification for the proposal of this second title was 

 that the fii-st had been previously employed in botany, 

 which was then (although not now) regarded as a bar 

 to its use in zoology. And at the present day some 

 naturalists think that the almost forgotten Vduhentonin 

 ought to be resuscitated, and the familiar Vhiroiini^ 

 abolished. This, howevei', is a matter which may be 

 left for the specialists to settle among themselves. 



But it is not with regard to its scientific name alone 

 that the creature has been unfortunate ; a difference of 

 opinion having ai-iseu as to its right to the name " aye- 

 aye," by which it has been universally known since 

 Sonnerat's time. That ti'aveller, it appears, had at first 

 two living specimens obtained on the west coast of 

 Madagascar; and when these were seen by the natives 

 of the east coast (where the species is unknown), they 

 ejaculated "aye-aye" — or more probably " hai-hai " — 

 which seems, not unnaturally, to have been regarded as 

 the native name of the animal. At least as early as 1860 

 it was. however, suggested that iu place of being the 

 animal's name, it was merely an exclamation of sui-prise 

 at the sight of a strange and unknown creatiu-e. And 

 this view of the case is maintained to be con-ect by 

 Mr. Shaw, a missionary who resided for many years in 

 Madagascar. On the other hand, another missionary, 

 Mr. Baron, affirms that the name "hai-hai" is derived 

 from the creature's peculiar cry. 



When those who have the best opportunities for 

 deciding an-ive at such opposite conclusions it is difficult 

 for others to form a judgment. I have, however, con- 

 sulted a natui-alist familiar with Madagascar, who tells 

 me that " hai " is undoubtedly the Malagasy expression 

 of surprise or wonderment. And that as the aye-aye 

 IS a shy and rare creature, seldom seen even by the 

 natives of the districts where it is found, and then 

 regarded with superstitious awe, the colloquial ex- 

 pression of wonderment may well have become its 

 accepted name. If, however, " hai-hai " be, as Mr. 

 Baron asserts, the creature's own cry, then it would 

 seem more likely that the exclamation has been derived 

 from the animal, and not that the animal has taken its 

 name from the exclamation. Anyway, there seems un- 

 doubtedly to be some kind of connection between the 

 exclamation " hai-hai " and the name " aye-aye," and wc 



may therefor© bo content to accept the latter as tho 

 popular title for Cliinnni/x inddtKjdscdrifitsis. Tho 

 natiu-alist to whom allusion is made above tells me, 

 however, that tho creature certainly has another ver- 

 nacular title in some parts of the island. 



As already mentioned, the naturalist Gmclin, by 

 whom the aye-aye was originally described, regarded it 

 as a kind of squirrel — an opinion shared at first by the 

 great anatomist Cuvicr. This view of its relationship 

 was doubtless formed from the somewhat squiiTol-liko 

 appearance of the animal, and the approximation made 

 by its teeth to the rodent type. When, however, the 

 Paris specimen was more carefully examined, and its 

 skull and certain other bones removed from tho skin, 

 it became appiu'ent that its relationships were evidently 

 with tho lemurs ; the German naturalist Schreber being 

 tho one to whom the honour of this identification is due. 



From Schrebcr's time till ISGO little or nothing moro 

 was done to advance our knowledge of the aye-aye, of 

 which the Pai-is specimen remained the only example 

 in Europe. In 1858, however, Dr. Sandwith left 

 England for Madagascar, and previous to his departure 

 Sir Richard (then Professor) Owen impressed upon him 

 the import.ance of endeavouring to obtain specimens of 

 this rare animal. A year later the Professor received a 

 letter stating that, with much difficulty a specimen had 

 been secured ; and this in due course arrived in England 

 pi'eserved in spirit. It was dissected and described by 

 Owen in 1860; and from the beautiful drawing by 

 Wolf which accompanies that memoir the figure 

 illustrating the present article is reproduced. 



Soon after the arrival of the specimen sent to Owen 

 a living example of this strange animal was received at 

 the menagerie of the Zoological Society in Regent's 

 Park; this being a female presented in 1862 by Mr. E. 

 Mellish. An excellent account of tho habits of this 

 animal in captivity was published by the late Mr. A. D. 

 Bai-tlett in the Society's Proceadiiif/s for the same year. 

 A male and female were also received in the menagerie 

 iu the summer of 1883, while a fourth specimen wa.s 

 pui'chased in the autumn of 1887. 



The ordinary public saw, however, little or nothing 

 of these specimens, for as might Ix; infcn'cd by its largo 

 eyes, the aye-aye is essentially a nocturnal creature, re- 

 maining comfortably curled up during tho daylight houi's, 

 and only venturing out as tho darkness comes on. In 

 this respect it resembles the majority of its cousins, tho 

 lemui-s; and were we naming animals afresh, the title 

 lemur would in some ways have been more appropriate 

 to this particular species than to those to which it 

 properly belongs. For the word " lemur " in its original 

 signification means a giiost, and not only is the aye-aye 

 stealthy and gliost^like in its movements, but it is re- 

 garded with superstitious dread by the Malagasy, who 

 believe it to be a kind of spirit. 



As already mentioned, the aye-aye has somewhat the 

 appearance of a Large dark-coloured squirrel ; and in 

 size it may bo compared roughly to a cat, the total 

 length being about three feet. The head and face aro 

 short and rounded ; and the large eyes are furnished 

 with a membrane which can be drawn across them from 

 one side. The large and rounded ears, which aro inclined 

 backwards, are naked and dotted with a number of 

 small tubercles. The blackish-brown hair all over tho 

 body is long and coarse, but it becomes longer still on 

 the long and bushy tail. Nothing very remarkable 

 exists in the structure of the hind limbs, which some- 

 w-hab exceed the front pair in length ; but the fore- 

 paws, or hands, which are unusually elongated, display 



