104 THE LEMURS. 



It sometimes breeds in confinement, and then affords an interesting sight. The young 

 Lemur is not so thickly clothed as its mother, but makes up deficiencies in its own 

 covering by burying itself in the soft fur of its parent. Many a time have I seen the 

 little creature sunk deeply in the soft fur of its mother's back, and so harmonizing with 

 her, that the child could hardly be distinguished from the parent. Sometimes it would 

 creep under the mother, and cling with arms and legs so firmly, that although she 

 might move about her cage, the little one was not shaken off, but held as firmly as 

 Ulysses to the Cyclops' ram. 



There is a curious structure in the hand and arm of this Lemur, bearing consider- 

 able analogy to the formation of the spider monkey's tail, which is mentioned on p. 84. 

 By means of this construction of the limb, the fingers of the hand are closed when the 

 arm is stretched out, so that the animal can suspend itself from a tree-branch, without 

 incurring fatigue. It sometimes utters a sound which resembles the purring of a cat, 

 and from that habit is derived the name of Cattus. The manner in which the dark 

 spots and rings are distributed over the body and tail is well shown in the engraving, 

 and need not be described. 



The WHITE-FRONTED LEMUR derives its name from the patch of white hairs which 

 appears on its forehead. Some naturalists suppose it to be the female of a similar 

 animal on whose forehead a sable patch is substituted for the white, and is therefore 

 called the Black-fronted Lemur. At present, however, the Black-fronted animal is 

 considered to be a distinct species ; and the only difference between the sexes of the 

 White-fronted Lemur seems to be, that in the male animal the forehead and some other 

 portions of the fur are white, while in the female they are of a light gray. The general 

 color of the animal is a brownish chestnut, but in some examples a gray tint takes the 

 place of the darker color. 



It is a gentle and engaging creature, and not at all shy, even to strangers, unless they 

 alarm it by loud voices or hasty gestures. It is possessed of great agility, climbing 

 trees, and running among the branches with perfect ease, and capable of springing 

 through a space of several yards. So gently does it alight on the ground after it leaps, 

 that the sound of its feet can hardly be heard as they touch the ground. 



As will be seen from the figure on p. 103, the RED LEMUR possesses a fur which has 

 somewhat of a woolly aspect, the hair separating into tufts, each of which is slightly 

 curled. It is a beautifully decorated animal, displaying considerable contrast of color- 

 ing. The body, head, and 'the greater portion of the limbs, are of a fine chestnut, with 

 the exception of a large white patch covering the back of the head and nape of the neck, 

 and a smaller one in the midst of each foot. The face, the tail, and paws, are black, 

 as is all the under side of the body. This latter circumstance is most remarkable, as 

 it is almost a general rule that the under parts of animals are lighter in tint than the 

 upper. Around the sides of the face, the hair is of a paler chestnut than that which 

 covers the body. 



In habits it is similar to the Lemurs which have already been described. Being 

 naturally a nocturnal animal, it passes the day in a drowsy somnolence, its head pushed 

 between its legs, and the long bushy tail wrapped round its body, as if to exclude the 

 light and retain the heat. Should it be accustomed to be fed during the daytime, it 

 shakes off its slumber for the purpose of satisfying the calls of hunger ; but even 

 though urged by so strong an inducement, it awakes with lingering reluctance, and sinks 

 to sleep again as soon as the demands of its appetite are satisfied. Its entire length 

 is nearly three feet, of which the tail occupies about twenty inches. Its height is 

 about a foot. 



The curious animal which is known by the name of the DIADEM LEMUR, is generally 

 thought to belong quite as much, if not more, to the Indris than to the Lemurs, and 

 has, therefore, been placed by Mr. Bennett in a separate genus, which he names 

 Propithecus. 



The name of Diadem Lemur is given to this creature on account of the white semilu- 

 nar stripe which runs across the forehead; the curve being just the opposite to the cres> 

 cent on the head of the Diana monkey, and therefore assuming the shape of a diadem. 

 This white stripe is very conspicuous, and serves by its bold contrast with the black head 



