18G3.] DR. J. E. GRAY ON THE SPECIES OF LEMUROIDS. 



133 



Upper cutting teeth large, strong, compressed, one before the 

 other in an arched Une. Ears exserted, hairy. Nostril separated by 

 a very narrow septum. Body thick. Feet short ; tarsus shorter than 

 the metatarsus. Tail rudimentary, very short. The great toe very 

 long, slender, and covered with hair. 



Indris brevicaudatus, Geoff. 



Lemur indri, Gmelin. 



Indris niger, Vinson. 



Var. white, called Simpoune. 



Indris albus, Vinson, Compt. Rend. Iv. 829. 



Hab. Madagascar {Brit. Mus.). 



The claws, like most of the Lemuridtx, when perfect are keeled 

 and end in an acute tip. 



Skull: length 3" 10'", breadth 2" 3'",— that is to say, measured 

 in inches and twelfths of an inch or lines. 



The four lower cutting teeth of the Indris occupy about the same 

 space as the six in the other genera, the central ones being broader, 

 while in the other genera the two central pair are very much com- 

 pressed and slender ; and the upper cutting teeth are stronger and 

 broader ; indeed the general character of the skull is to be stronger, 

 though the teeth are fewer. In other respects there is very little 

 difference in the dentition. 



2. Propithecus, Bennett. 



Macromerus, A. Smith, 1834. 



Habrocebus, Wagner, 1840. 



Ears short, smooth inside, and visible in the fur. Nostrils sepa- 

 rated by a moderate septum. Tail elongate. The two middle upper 

 cutting teeth very large, oblique, sharp-edged. Great toe long, hairy. 



Propithecus diadema, Bennett, P. Z. S. 1832, p. 20. 

 Hab. Madagascar {Brit. Mus.). 



** Grinders ^^; cutting teeth —^; the tail elongate, hairy ; the 

 great toe short, broad. Lemurina. 



a. The feet short ; ears hairy externally, moderate or hidden ; the 

 upper cutting teeth subequal, on the side of the more or less 

 prominent intermaxillary bone. 



The length of the feet are shown in the skeleton by the tarsal bones 

 being shorter, or not longer, than the metatarsal ones ; they are 

 shorter than the shank or tibia, being generally about two-thirds the 

 length of that part of the leg. 



M. Isidore Geofifroy observes, the species of Lemurs " are nume- 

 rous ; many are very difficult to distinguish, or even doubtful." 



It is to be observed that I have never seen the skin of a specimen 

 that was caught wild in its natural habitat. All the specimens that . 

 have come under my observation have been living in menageries ; and 

 all the skins in the Museum are obtained from specimens which have 



