THE GALAGOES. 



195 



the Lemurs properly so called ; a remark which requires particular appli- 

 cation to the teeth, as it was long supposed there was a subgenus having 

 only two incisors in the upper jaw. The truth is this : The incisors are 

 very small, the upper canines again are particularly large, and the exces- 

 sive development of these latter frequently displaces the neighbouring 

 teeth. The most remarkable feature in the organization of this genus is 

 the great length of the posterior extremities, approximating them to the 

 Kangaroos. In the Quadrumanaan essential character, as is well known, 

 consists in the multiplication, the separation, and the distinct specifica- 

 tion, so to speak, of all the parts of the foot. Now, the elongation of 

 the hinder limb is, in the case before us, effected without in the slightest 

 degree deranging the type of the order, and solely by a change in the vo- 

 lume of some of its parts. Of the seven bones which form the tarsus, 

 two only, namely, the Scaphoid and Calcaneum, are lengthened; and not- 

 withstanding the marked change thus produced, the common forms and 

 use of the bones themselves are modified but to a trifling extent. 



The great length of these limbs, and the size of the eyes and external ears, 

 all harmonize with the fact that the Galagoes are nocturnal and insectivo- 

 rous. By means of the large auricle, whose folds it actually expands, it is ad- 

 vertised of the slightest noise, even to the flitting of an Insect through the 

 air ; and on perceiving one, darts upon it like a Hawk. This it does in 

 two ways; seated in ambush, and hid beneath the foliage, it sometimes 

 starts up only on its hind feet, without quitting the branch, in a mo- 

 ment it darts upon its victim, and clenches it : more frequently, however, 

 like the Bat, it seizes its prey in the air, vaulting surprisingly, flying from 

 branch to branch, and scarcely ever missing the object of pursuit. 



Like most of the Bats, the Galagoes, during repose, escape from the 

 annoyance which the extreme acuteness of their hearing might produce ; 

 for they have the remarkable power of closing their ears when asleep. 

 These appendages contracting and folding at their base, retract to that ex- 

 tent that they even become invisible. When roused from sleep by any 

 sudden noise, the animal unfolds, and we may almost say expands, every 

 part of its ear, extending it in the direction whence the sound emanates. 

 This appendage, then, it is interesting to observe, subserves a double pur- 

 pose; expanded, it is an admirable acoustic instrument; and contracted, 

 it completely plugs up the auditory foramen. The animal can thus at 

 will make itself deaf, or nearly so; a most happy faculty during its hours 

 of repose, when the animated and busy scenes around it are all active 

 and noisy under the light of day. It has thus a kind of eye-lid to the 

 ear, rendered the more necessary from the exquisite sensibility and great 

 perfection of the sense. 



The habits of the Galagoes resemble those of Monkeys and Squirrels. 

 Generally quite gentle, they live perched upon trees, and cling to the 

 branches almost like Birds. Their agility in pursuit of their living prey 

 quite astonishes an observer; their motions are so rapid that the eye can- 

 not follow them, and they are almost as quick in devouring their prey as 

 in seizing it. They make a most comfortable bed for their young. The 

 Negroes hunt them as an article of food. 



I. OTOLICNUS CRASSICAUD.\TUS.— GRE.'iT GALAGO. 



Syn. Galago Crassicaudatus. — Geoff. Ann. Mus. XIX. — Desni. Mam. 



Galago a queue touffue Desm. Mam. 



Icon. Le Grand Galago Cuv. Reg. Anim. III. pi. 1, fig. 1 — Nouv. 



Diet. d'Hist. Nat. XIII. pi. E. 31. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 



The Hair reddish-grey. The Ears two-thirds of the length of the 

 head. 



Inhabits Africa. 



Of this Galago, distinguished as Le Grand by Cuvier, and catalogued 

 by nearly all systematic writers, exceedingly little is known. It is of about 

 the size of a Rabbit ; the ears are oval, and equal two-thirds of the body 

 in length ; the fur is thick and silky, and of a reddish-grey colour ; the 

 tail is throughout bushy. Its habits are supposed to correspond with 

 those of its congeners, and its precise locality has not been ascertained. 



2. OTOLICNUS SENEGALENSIS.— SENEGAL GALAGO. 

 Syn. Le Moyen (Galago). — Cuv. Reg. Anim. I. 109. 



Galago Senegai.ensis Geoff. Ann. Mus. XIX Desm. Mam. 



Galago Geoffeoyi. — G. Fischer, in Act. Soc. Mosc. I. p. 25. 



Lemur Galago. — Shaw, Gen. Zool. I. 

 Icon. Le Galago. — Audeb. Sing. 



Galago uu Senegal F. Cuv. et Geoff. Hist. Mam Sclireb. Saiiglh. 



pi. 38, B. 



Galago Moholi Smilh,i Zool. S. Afr. pi. 8. (Marara.) 



SPECIFIC characters. 

 The Hair yellowish-grey above ; yellowish-white beneath ; tending to 

 reddish on the tail. 



The Ears as long as the head- 

 Inhabits Western and Southern Africa. 



The most striking characters of this interesting-looking animal are its 

 ears, equal in dimensions to its whole head ; its posterior limbs greater in 

 length than the body and head together, and the tail longer than both. The 

 fur is rather long, bushy, and very soft; it is longest on the body ; somewhat 

 less so on the head, rather unequal on the lower part of the body, very 

 short on the hands, and under the tarsus. This Galago is yellowish-white 

 beneath, and yellowish-grey above, tending to reddish on the tail ; the 

 points only of the hairs have the grey cast, the basal portion being of a 

 blueish ash colour ; the yellow commences on the extremities, whilst the 

 head is wholly grey. Ayellowish-white band pervades the whole chan- 

 frin. 



This, and probably the other species, are very common in Western 

 Africa. The Moors, who frequently bring them to the coast, sell them to 

 the Europeans under the name of Gum animals — a circumstance which has 

 induced some to believe that they eat this article. It is owing merely, 

 however, to the gum trees attracting Insects, and of course their devourers. 



In captivity these creatures must be kept with all the care exercised 

 towards Birds ; for they are exceedingly apt to escape, and it is almost im- 

 possible again to catch them. Their vivacity, their extreme petulance, 

 and the extent of their leaps, are truly surprising, and not less so the ex- 

 tensive motion of their ears. 



Although the reasons assigned by Dr Smith do not appear to us suf- 

 ficient for the establishment of the new species he proposes (Galago Mo- 

 holi, which we anticipate further inquiry will assign to the present), yet 

 we are happy to quote his excellent description of the animal so frequently 

 seen in Southern Africa. " The first specimens we observed were 

 upon two trees close to the Limpopo River, in about latitude 25° S., and 

 from that parallel we continued to observe others as far as we travelled. 

 During their movements they evince great activity; they spring from 

 branch to branch, and even from tree to tree, with extraordinary facility, 

 and always seize with one of their fore-feet the branch upon which 

 they intend to rest. In their manners they manifest considerable resem- 

 blance to Monkeys, particularly in their propensity to the practice of ri- 

 diculous grimaces, gesticulations, &c. According to the natives it is a noc- 

 turnal animal, and is rarely to be seen during the day. The latter it 

 spends in its nest ; where the female rears her young, generally two at a 

 birth. Its food consists principally of pulpy fruits, tliough there is reason 

 to believe it also consumes Insects, as the remains of the latter were dis- 

 covered in the stomachs of several individuals we examined." 



3. OTOLICNUS MADAGASCARIENSIS MADAGASCAR 



GALAGO. 



Sijn. Le Petit (Galago). — Cuv. Reg. Anim. L 109. 



Galago Madagascariensis — Geoff. Ann. Mus. XIX Desm. Mam. 



Otolicnus Madagascariensis Schinz Thierr. L 1 17. 



Murine Lemur. — Penn. Quadr. I. 232. 



MiCROcEBUS RUFCS. — Geoff. Cours. Leg. 11, p. 2L 



Lemur mdrinus Linn. Gmel. I. 44. 



Icon. Maki nain. — F. Cuv. et Geoff. Hist. Mam. 



Lemur Pusillus (Le Maki nain) — Audeb. Sing. 



Rat de Madagascar — Buff. Hist. Nat. Suppl. IIL pi. 20. 



SPECIFIC characters. 



The Hair dark-grey above; whitish beneath. The Ears much less 

 than the head. 



Inhabits Madagascar. 



This Galago, though of dimensions and general appearance such as very 

 naturally procured for it the appellation of the Madagascar Rat, yet pos- 

 sesses a structure which removes it far from the order Rodentia, and 

 places it in that one on which we are now dwelling. Its organs of motion, 

 even to the crooked nail on the index fingers of the posterior extremity, 

 ai'ree precisely with those of its congeners. Its tail has been remarked to be 

 somewhat less bushy ; its ears are proportionally very decidedly smaller than 

 the previous species; they are also rounder, but are membranaceous and 

 naked ; the eyes are of the same great size, and the pupil is round. The 

 tongue is smooth. The whole of its body, except the muzzle and the ex- 

 tremity of its members, is covered with a thick fur, composed of wavy 

 silk-looking hairs, soft and light. The forehead, back of the head, upper 

 part of the neck, the shoulders, and superior portion of the arms, as well 

 as the back and upper parts of the body, and the whole of the tail, are 



1 Smith, Zool. S. Afr Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa, consisting chiefly of Figures anil Descriptions of the objects of Natural History, collected du- 

 ring an Expedition into the Interior of South .\frica in the years 1834 to 1836, fitted out by the Cape of Good Hope Association for exploring Central Africa. By Andrew 

 Smith, M.D. London, 1838, et seq. 



