234 LEMURS. 



spines, which project from the upper surfaces of their joints, are so elongated that 

 they actually project beyond the general level of the skin of the back of the neck, 

 where they form a series of little humps. We are at present unacquainted with 

 the object of this peculiar structural arrangement. 



Like the loris, the potto is nocturnal in its habits, sleeping during the whole 

 of the day, as shown in our first illustration, rolled up in a ball, with the head 

 between the fore-legs, and folded into the chest, and supporting itself, in captivity 

 by grasping the bars of its cage with both hands and feet. 



The potto is found over a considerable extent of the West Coast of Africa, 

 having been recorded from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and the Gabun. Unfortunately, 

 however, we have but few details as to its habits in a wild state, this being prob- 



BOSMAN'S POTTO. (From Proc. Zool. Soc. After Sclater.) 



ably largely due to the creature having been seldom seen by Europeans. Several 

 specimens of the potto have been exhibited in the Gardens of the London Zoological 

 Society; the animal is, however, extremely susceptible to cold, and requires the 

 greatest care. 



THE AWANTIBO (Perodicticus calabarensis). 



Far more rare than the potto is the lemur represented in the illustration on 

 the next page, which is known only from the regions around the Old Calabar River, 

 flowing into the Bight of Biafra, east of the Niger. The awantibo is distinguished 

 from the potto, not only by its smaller size and more slender build, but also by the 

 tail being reduced to a mere rudiment, and by a still further reduction of the index 

 finger, which is represented merely by a little tubercle on the edge of the hand. 



