TRUE LEMURS. 



215 



from those already noticed ; this difference being chiefly shown by the presence of 

 a more or less Mrell-marked rutf fringing the cheeks and chin, and frequently also 

 by a fringe of hairs on the margins of the ears. Moreover, all these lenmrs are 

 subject to great variation in colour, Avhich in one case appears to be merely 

 individual, while in another it is distinctive of the two sexes. So great, indeed, is 

 this variation, that the two species of which we shall treat have been described 

 under at least four distinct scientific names ; thereb}' showing liow great is the 

 need of caution in such matters. 



The black lemur comes from the nortli-west coast of Madagascar; and the 

 male, upon the evidence of which tlie species was originally described, is of a 

 uniform black colour, with a well-developed ruff round the cheeks and neck, and a 

 long fringe to the ears. Verj' diflereut, however, is the female, which was at first 

 described under the name of the white-whiskered lemur (L. leucomystax). In tliis 

 sex the general colour of the fur is brown, with a patch on the lower part of the 

 back, and the rufi" round the face and the fringe on tlie ears are white. 



A female of this species in the Gardens of the London Zoological Society twice 

 gave birth to a young one, and thus artbrded an opportunity of seeing the curious 

 manner in which the true lemurs carry their offspring. This is shown in the 

 woodcut on ]). 202. Tlie young one born on the 24th of March 1 884 proved to be a 

 female, and was of the same brown colour as its mother. On the 3rd of April in 

 the following year the second young one was born, which was a male, and at the 

 time of birth it was of the black hue of its fatiiei-. Each of these young ones was 

 carried lying nearly across the abdomen of its mother, with its tail passed round 

 her, and thus on to its neck, so as to afford a firm attachment : antl it is believed 

 that, at least in the wild state, the young are at a later period carried on their 

 mother's back. 



A nearly allied lemur, of which the male was described by Dr. Sclater, may 

 be called the smooth-eared black lemur (Z. rufipes), and is distinguished by the 

 smaller size of the iniff round the thi'oat, and the absence of a fringe on the ears 

 of the male ; the difference in the heads of the two foi'ins being shown in the 

 figure on page 210. The female of this lemur was described by Dr. Gray, and 

 has reddish feet. 



The Ruffed Lemur (Lemur varius). 



The last, and at the same time the largest, of the true lemurs is the ruffed 

 lemur, which inhabits the north-east coast of Madaga.scar. As its name implies, 

 it is remarkable for the extraordinary individual variation in the colour of the 

 fur ; such variations being apparently independent of sex. Frequently the colour 

 is a mixture of black and white, disposed in patches on different parts of the body, 

 but occasionally white individuals are met with. Other individuals are, however, 

 of a nearly uniform reddish-brown colour ; this variety having been regarded as a 

 distinct species, umler the name of the red lemur (L. ruber). 



A specimen of the red variety in the Menagerie of the London Zoological Society 

 had the upper surface of the body of a bright rafous brown, while the under-parts 

 were of a deep black. The reddish area included the sides of the face, ears, back, 



