64 MAMMiVLIA. 



varied with larj^e patclics of black on a pure wiiite ^.n-ound. They avera^'-e tlie size of a large Cat, hut have lon;2:or 

 huihs ; and have all lone; tails, which are elevated in a si;:^nioid form, when in motion, and not trailed after them. 

 Tliey are nocturnal or twilight animals, which sleep by day in a ball-like figure, perched on a hough ; are gentle 

 in disposition, and easily tamed ; but have much less intelligence than the Slonkeys, and are without the prying, 

 mischievous propensities of those animals : their ordi!}ary voice is a low grunt, but they often break forth into a 

 hoarse abrupt roar, producing a startling effect ; in their native forests they frequently thus roar in concert.] 



The Indris {Lichauofii^, Illi2;er)— - 

 Have teeth as in tlic preceding;, except that tliere arc only four [two] lower incisors [the central pro- 

 bably soon fallint;;. Their liiuder lirnbs are extreniu'.y long ; the head broad, muzzle i^bort, and bands 

 Ion-] 



But one species is known, without tail [this appendage being reduced to a tubercle], three feet in height, blacky 

 with the face grey, and white behind {Leymir indrl, Lin., Indris brevicaudaius, Geof.), which the inhabitants 

 of ^Madagascar tame, and train to the chace like a h^og. The Long-tailed Indri {LcmHr hoiifirr, ijm.) needs 

 farther examination. 



[The latter appears to be very intimately allied to a species, with a naked face, named PnijiiihccHf! dUideiaa 

 liy Bennett, (Macromerun ty picas, Smith,) the systematic characters of which seem hardly to warrant its separa- 

 tion from the Indris. Both are natives of Madagascar, and it is doubtful whether the present genus should not 

 precede the last. The Short-tailed Indri is the mu^t hunian-like of its tribe. 



The Macaucos {Microcehas, Geof., GalayoideSy Smith)- — 

 Have the licad round; muzzle short and pointed; ears moderate and erect; the fore-limlis small: four 

 incisors above, the central larger; also four Ijelnw, with i^imilar jirojectiiig canines, as in Ltnimr ; the 

 upper canines are small and pointed; and the hrst inferior false molar is scarcely larger than the 

 next : the ehcuk-tecth indicate a partly insectivorous regimen. Tlieir scrotum is di5]injportioiiately 

 large. 



Two small species are known : the Murine Macaueu {LonKn/nirui/is, Pen.), "vihich is BuiTon's Ruf i'/M(uliii/a,->car ; 

 and the Brown ^laca-uco (M. pus-illiis, Geof . ; cdso Galago inndai/ascaricns/s, Geof., G. d v m idaljii, Fischur, and 

 OtuUcnas madagnscariensis, Schinz). The Lemur cinercm, Geof. and Desm. {Petit Maki, BuH\), may perhaps con- 

 stitute a third. These httle animals have much the aspect, and also the manners, of a large Dnrmoase, which they 

 farther resemble in nestling in the holes of trees, which serve them for a dormitory : during day they sleep robed 

 up in a ball, and only rouse from their torpor on tlie approach of twilight, but are then extremely agile and lively. 

 Of their habits in a sfate of nature v,e Know httle, e\cept tliat they are arboreal.] 



The Loris {S/enops, lliiger) — 

 Have the teetb of the Lemurs, except that the points of tbcir grinders are more acute ; the sliort muzzle 

 otama:^tid'; liody slender ; no tad ; large approximating eyes; the tongue rough. Tlicy ^uh>ist on 

 insects, occasionally on small birds or quadrupeds, ami liave an cxces^iNely slow gait: their mode of 

 life is nocturnal. Sir A. Carlisle has found that the base of the arteries of the limlis is divided into 

 small branches, [anastomosing freely with eacli otlier,] as in tlic true Slotlis, [the object of which 

 a[ipear:^ to be to cualjle tiiem to sustain a long coulinuance of muscular contraction. The same cha- 

 racter occurs, however, in the Cetacea]. 



Only two species are known, both from the E,^^^t Indies; the Short-limbed Loris {Lemur iardinrddns, Lin.), 

 and the Slender Loris (L. gracilis] -. the former has been made a separate genus of by Geolfroy, who styles it 

 Niicticehus ; but he is wrong in asserting that it has only two incisors in the upper jaw : the latter is remarkable 

 forthe disproportionate elongation of its limbs, and especially of its fore-arms. [These most singular animals 

 are eminently nocturnal and arboreal, being incommoded by daylight ; they are also very susceptible of cold, 

 which makes them dull and inanimate. During the day, they sleep clinging to a branch, with the body drawn 

 together, and head sunk upon the chest ; at night they prowl among the forest boughs in quest of food. 

 Nothing can escape the scrutiny of their large glaring orbs : they mark their victim, insect or bird, and cautiously 

 and noiselessly make their advances towards it, until it is within the reach of their grasp; they then devour it on 

 the spot, previously divesting it, if a bird, of its feathers. When rousing from their diurnal slundiers, they 

 delight to clean and lick their fall soft far; and in captivity will tlien allow themselves to be caressed by those 

 accastomed to feed them : they are remarkable for extreme tenacity of grasp. 



The Pottos {Pcrodl'.'iicns, Bennett) — 



Have comparatively small eyes ; the ears moderate and open : dentition approaching that of the Lemurs ; 

 tail moderate ; hmbs equal ; the index finger of the anterior hands (tig. 5) httle more than rudimentary. 



