A VAHI. 209 



sharply separated from one another that it is suflBcient to cross a river — it may be 

 of no great width — in order to find that, while on one bank all the sifakas belong 

 to one race, on the opposite bank they will be of another race, if not of a distinct 

 species. No satisfactory explanation of these peculiar features in topographical 

 distribution has, however, suggested itself to the authors quoted. 



The Avahi Lemur. 

 Genus Avahis. 



The third and last genus of the present group of lemurs is represented only by 

 the avahi or woolly lemur (Avahis laniger); a species discovered at the same time 

 as the indri in the year 1870 bv the French traveller Sonnerat. The avalii, althouirh 

 furnished with a long tail like the .sifakas, is i-eadily distinguished by the still sliorter 

 muzzle, and also by the ears being completely concealed by the fur, which is of a 

 woolly instead of a silky nature. Althougli these differences are amply sufficient 

 to distinguish the avahi from the sifakas when they are seen together, it is not on 

 these alone that the zoologist relies when referring them to distinct genera. There 

 are, indeed, well-marked differences in their teeth ; but it will be sufficient for our 

 jjresent purpose to merely record the existence of these points of distinction. The 

 avahi differs, moreover, from all the other members of the group to which it belongs 

 in being of nocturnal instead of diurnal hal)its. 



The avahi is the smallest member of all this group of lemurs, its dimen.sions 

 being rather less than two-thirds of those of the diademed sifaka. In colour, the 

 long hairs on the forehead immediately above the eyes are grey at the base and 

 pinkish at the tips ; while there is in some individuals a small white or yellowish 

 band, more or less irregular, across the crown of the head. The rest of the head, 

 the neck, the back, and the arms are covered with woolly fur, of whicli tlie 

 individual hairs are grey at the roots, reddish in the middle, and black at tlio 

 tips; an arrangement which communicates a i:)eculiar aj^pearance to the whole fur. 

 The concealed ears are reddish, and the cheeks grey. The loins and flanks are 

 of a much lighter colour than the back, especially in the region of the tail, where 

 there is a large triangular patch of pinkish-white running forwards into the dark 

 area of the bod}'. The hind-limbs are still lighter in colour, and as the hairs here 

 tend to grow into bunches or tufts, they reveal their grey bases and pinkish tips, 

 thus giving to the pelage a mottled appearance. The bushj^ tail is of a decidedly 

 pink tint, more especially for the first third of its length. The hands and feet are 

 I'eddish. 



There are, however, great variations of colour among different individuals of 

 the avahi, inhabiting even the same district ; some having the pelage almost 

 uniformly reddish, while in others all the parts above the thighs are nearly pure 

 white. 



According to Messrs. Milne -Edwards and Grandidier, the avahis, instead of 

 living in .small troops like the indris and sifakas, are found either solitary or in 

 pairs. They are completely nocturnal, sleeping dui-ing the day curled up in the 

 fork of a bi-anch, and issuing forth in search of food with the falling shades of 



VOL. I. — 14 



