VERTEBRATA: MAMMALIA. 773 



tion of the Quadrumana that we have the highest group of 

 the Monkeys that, namely, of the Anthropoid or Tail -less 

 Apes. 



STREPSIRHINA. 



This section of the Quadrumana, as before said, is charac- 

 terised by the possession of twisted or curved nostrils, placed 

 at the end of the snout. The incisor teeth are generally much 



modified, and are in number - - as a rule ; the lower incisors 



33 



^ *+ 2 _ 2 



are produced and slanting ; the praemolars are ^^ or - 



and the molars are tuberculate. The second digit of the 

 hind-limb has a claw, and both fore and hind feet have five 

 toes each, all the thumbs being generally opposable. In the 

 true Lemurs, all the digits, except the second toe of the hind- 

 feet, are furnished with nails. 



This section is often called that of the Prostmice, and it in- 

 cludes several families, of which the Aye-ayes, Loris, and true 

 Lemurs are the most important. In many works the Galeo- 

 pithecus is also placed in this section. 



Milne-Edwards and Gervais, from an examination of the 

 placentation of the Lemuroids and of their cerebral charac- 

 ters, conclude that the group should be raised to the rank of 

 a distinct order intermediate between the Carnivora and the 

 Quadrumana. 



The family of the Aye-ayes (Cheiromydce) includes only a 

 single animal, the Cheiromys Madagascariensis. In appearance 

 the Aye-aye is not very unlike a large Squirrel, having a hairy 

 body and a long bushy tail. There are no canines, and the 

 molars (fig. 450) are separated by a wide interval from the 

 incisors; while there is the additional Rodent-like character 

 that the incisors are ploughshare-shaped, and grow from per- 

 manent pulps. The dental formula is 



i i o o o o 33 



The fore-feet have five toes, armed with strong claws, but 

 the pollex is scarcely opposable to the other digits. The 

 middle finger is about as long as the ring-finger, but only about 

 half as thick, its last two joints being hairless. The hind-feet 

 have also five toes, of which the hallux is opposable, and the 

 second digit is furnished with a long claw ; as are all the toes 



