MAMMALS 17 



Tarsier to hold securely the insects on which it feeds, 

 for the palmar surface is roughened by its division into 

 innumerable little prominences, and the prominences 

 themselves are grooved by the 'lines which, as I have 

 said, run in all directions, on one prominence trans- 

 versely, on another obliquely, and so on. 



I used to feed a captive Tarsier on cockroaches and 

 grasshoppers, and I observed that almost invariably the 

 little beast would spring on to its prey, grab it in one 

 or both hands, crunching it badly in the process, and 

 would then bite off all the parts of the insect that 

 protruded from its fist. Even the slipperiest cockroach 

 could not make its escape once seized in those long, 

 slender fingers. On the palms of the hands and soles 

 of the feet occur large pads, the position of which is 

 shown in the figures ; the surface of these pads is 

 grooved with lines, which I expect play a useful part 

 in grasping and clinging actions. The tail is not pre- 

 hensile, but its under surface is distinctly sticky, and 

 no doubt this helps the animal to cling to vertical 

 surfaces. Down the back of the thigh runs a strip of 

 skin devoid of fur, looking strangely like the apterium 

 of a bird. 



The Dayaks assert of the Tarsier that it can turn its 

 head right round in a complete circle ; this is an 

 exaggerated statement of the fact that the animal can 

 turn its head through half a circle ; that is to say, if it 

 is clinging to a vertical surface it can, without moving 

 its position, look straight into the face of an observer 

 standing directly behind it. 



During the day the Tarsier rests almost motionless, 

 clinging to some support, the knees drawn up almost 

 to the face, the eyes half closed, with their pupils con- 



3 



