, QUADRUMANA. 553 



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

 Apes. 



STREPSIRHINA. 



This section of the Qiiadrumana, 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 praemolars 



3 O 



are - or , and the molars are tuberculate. The second 



33 22' 



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 Prosimicz, and it in- 

 cludes several families, of which the Aye- Ayes, Pottos, and true 

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

 pithecus is also placed in this section. 



The family of the Aye- Ayes (Cheiromyda) 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 are separated by a wide interval from the incisors. The 

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

 is scarcely opposable to the other digits. The hind-feet have 

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

 digit is furnished with a long claw. As far as is yet known, 

 the Cheiromys is entirely confined to Madagascar. 



In the Nycticebida are the Loris and the Pottos, in which 

 there is no tail, or but a rudimentary one, the ears are short 

 and rounded, and the eyes are large and are placed close to- 

 gether. The species of this family are all of small size, and 

 are exclusively confined to the eastern portion of the Old 

 World, occurring in Java, Ceylon, the southern parts of Asia, 

 and other localities in the same geographical area. They are 

 nocturnal in their habits, living mostly in trees, and feeding 

 upon insects ; and from the slowness with which some of them 

 progress, they are sometimes spoken of as " Slow Lemurs." 



The largest and most important of the families of the Strep- 

 sirhina is that of the Lemuridce or true Lemurs. In this family 

 the muzzle is elongated, the feet are all furnished with oppos- 

 able thumbs, and the nails on all the toes are flat, with the 

 exception of the second toe of the hind-foot, in which there is 

 a long and pointed claw. The body is covered with a soft 



