THE RED LEMUR. 23 



climbing and leaping with surprising agility ; and, being of a 

 chilly nature, they delight in basking in the sunshine or the 

 warmth of a fire. When undisturbed, however, they roll them- 

 selves up into the form of a ball, and, with their long tails wound 

 round their bodies, sleep in this position during a great portion 

 of the day. 



THE RED LEMUR. (Lemur ruber.} 



This is one of the most beautiful and, certainly, the rarest 

 species of lemur hitherto discovered. 



It measures more than two feet from the nose to the base of 

 the tail, which appendage is itself longer than the body. The 

 back, the sides of the body, the sides of the face, the ears, and 

 the outer surface of the limbs, are of a bright reddish brown ; 

 the forehead, the face, the throat, the breast, the belly, the inside 

 of the limbs, and the entire feet are of a deep black, except where 

 a narrow stripe of white crosses over the hinder feet. On the 

 back of the neck is a large oval patch of white, extending from 

 behind the ears to between the shoulders. The naked face and 

 hands, the moustaches, and the long tail are perfectly black. 

 The hair of the upper parts of the body and tail is extremely 

 long, soft, and woolly ; the dark fur underneath is shorter and 

 close. The eyes are lively and expressive, and their irides are 

 of a lighter yellow than those of the other species of lemurs. 



