30 



The Living Animals of the World 



Lemur, the Grey Lemur, the Mouse Lemur, the 

 Gentle Lemur, the Sportive Lemur, the Crowked 

 Lemur, and Coquerel's Lemur, all represent 

 \arious small, pretty, and interesting varieties 

 of the group. The Black-axd-wiiite Lemur, one 

 of tlie larger kinds, is capable of domestication. 



specimen 



SpOi 



kept 



London house, where 



Phnto hi L. JLuMi-J, J ./.i.j i- 



GARNETT'S GALAGO. 

 One of the sriuineMike lemuruids. 



tlie pi-esent writer saw it, was always called 

 '^ Pussy" by the children. The other small 

 kinds are very like squirrels, mice, weasels, 

 and other creatures, with which they ha\e no 

 connection. It seems as though the curiously 

 limited and primiti\e fauna of jMadagascar tried 

 to make up for its want of \'ariety Ijy mimick- 

 ing the forms of other animals, and something 

 of the same kind is seen in Australia, where the marsupials take the place of all kinds 

 of ordinary mammals. There are marsupial rats, marsupial wolves, marsupird squirrels, 

 and e\en marsu})ial moles. The small squirrel and rat-like lemurs are called Ciiirogales. 

 Coquerel's Lemuu is really a chirogale. It is a quaint and by no means amiable little 

 animal, sleeping obstinately all day, and always ready to growl and bite if disturbed. Its 

 colour is brownish grey and cream-colour. A pair of these, rolled up tightly into balls in a 

 box of hay, will absolutely refuse to move, even when handled. They only feed by night. 



The Galagos. 



An allied group, confined to tropical Africa, is that of the Galagos. They are most beautiful 

 little creatures, whose nearest relatives are the Malagasy lemurs. Generally speaking, they have 

 even more exquisite fur than the lemurs. It is almost as soft as floss silk, and so close that the 

 hand sinks into it as into a lied of moss. The colour of the fur is rich and pleasing, generally 

 some shade of brown. The head is small, the nose pointed, and the ears thin, hairless, and 

 capable of being folded up, like the wings of a beetle. But the most beautiful feature of the 

 galagos is their eyes. These are of immeirse size, compared with the head. The eye is of 

 the richest and most beautiful brown, like a cairngorm stone, but not glassy or clear. Though 

 quite translucent, the eye is marked with minute di\i(ling-lines, like the grain in an agate — a 

 truly exquisite object. When handled or taken 

 in the arms, the little galago clasps the fingers 

 or sleeve tightly, as if it thought it was holding 

 a tree, and shows no disposition to escape. 

 A family of three or four young ones, no 

 larger than mice, with their large-eyed mother 

 attending to them, forms an exquisitely dainty 

 little group, Tlie galagos vary from the size 

 of a sqiiii'rel to that of a small cat. The kind 

 most often seen in England is the JMaholi 

 Galago from Last Africa. Another species 

 conres from Senegal, and others from Calabar 

 and the forests of the Gold Coast. Garxett's 

 Galago, another species, is shown abo\e. 

 They may be regarded as nocturnal tropical 

 lemuroids, analogous to the chirogales of Mada- 

 gascar. It has been suggested, with great 

 probability, that the intensely drowsy sleep 



Pholo hy L. Mcdiand, F.Z.S.] 



MAHOLI GALAGO 



[North Finchley. 



Thia little animal is a native of East Africa. It has very large eyes, 

 and fur aa soft as the chinchilla's. 



