GALEOPITHECID^E. 551 



that of the Hedgehogs, characterised by the fact that the 

 upper part of the body is covered with prickly spines, the feet 

 are not adapted for digging, and they have the power of rolling 

 themselves into a ball at the approach of danger. The common 

 Hedgehog (Erinaceus Europaus] is in every way a typical 

 example of this family, but is too well known to require any 

 description. 



GALEOPITHECIDJE. 



Before passing on to the Quadrumana, mention must be 

 made here of a very singular animal which forms a kind of 

 connecting link between the orders of the Insectivora and 

 Quadrumana,^ having been sometimes placed in the one and 

 sometimes in the other, or having been regarded as the type 

 of a separate order. The order includes only the single genus 

 Galeopithecus, comprising the so-called " Flying Lemurs." All 

 the Galeopithed inhabit the Indian Archipelago, but the best 

 known is the Galeopithecus volans of Java, Sumatra, and 

 Borneo. The most characteristic point in this singular animal 

 is the presence of a flying-membrane, presenting some super- 

 ficial resemblance to the patagium of the Bats, but in reality 

 very much the same as the integumentary expansions of the 

 Flying Squirrels and Flying Phalangers. This membrane in 

 the Galeopithecus extends as a broad expansion from the nape 

 of the neck to the arms, from the arms to the hind-legs, and 

 from the hind-legs to the tail, forming an inter-femoral mem- 

 brane. The fingers are not elongated, and do not support a 

 patagium, as in the Bats, so that the animals have no power of 

 true flight, and can simply take extended leaps from tree to 

 tree. The feet are furnished with five toes each, united by a 

 membrane, but neither the hallux nor the pollex are opposable 

 to the other digits. The dentition is complicated, and consists 

 of incisors and molars, and, according to Owen, canines also, 

 the dental formula being 



t=! ; p m 2 Z2 ; m ^=3 = 34- 



33 i i 2-2 33 



The Galeopithed live chiefly upon small birds and insects, but 

 also partially upon fruits. 



