1588 Quadrupeds. 



He is not at all of civilized or cleanly habits, however, which is his 

 only failing, and he therefore requires constant watching to be an 

 agreeable parlour companion, and I have hitherto failed to instil 

 better manners into him ; any chastisement only makes him peevish 

 and shy. He is fond of licking himself, or the face and hands of 

 those that caress him, — well-cleaned boots and coals have also a great 

 attraction for his little rough tongue, — and, aided by his lower front 

 teeth, he soon licks away the skin. One unlucky midshipman, who 

 lay down (without tying him up) in the berth, had the skin taken off 

 his nose and part of his forehead by the lemur's mode of showing at- 

 tachment. In size he is about as large as a small cat, but his hind 

 legs and tail much larger: the length of his tail is 21 J- inches; from 

 the tip of his nose to the root of his tail 15 j inches ; girth of barrel 

 10J inches; length from inside of armpit to tip of fingers 8 J inches ; 

 length of legs, from fork to end of toes, 12j inches. The colour of 

 the fur on the back, sides, and outside of legs and arms, is brownish- 

 gray, blending into iron-grey on the neck and crown of the head : this 

 fur grows very thick and long on a gray-blue skin, each hair being the 

 same colour at the root, brown in the middle, white and black at the 

 tip. The fur on the throat, face, cheeks, ears, belly, and inside of the 

 legs, is dirty-white, and long but thin. Round the eyes is a dark gray 

 circle of fur ; the muzzle, palate and lips are black ; the tongue red. 

 The tail is ringed, black and dirty-white, and is not prehensile. The 

 fingers and thumbs are long and well padded, with nails to all but the 

 fingers of the feet, which have short claws like a cat ; these, the palms 

 of the hands, and part of the wrists, are black, and have the appear- 

 ance of velvet. There are four front teeth in the upper, and six in the 

 lower jaw, four canines, and twelve grinders. The eyes bright hazel 

 and prominent, with a small pupil, not contracting. My specimen is 

 evidently young, as an adult at the Zoological Gardens is a third 

 larger, and has less brown about the fur, and the parts here described 

 as dirty-white are in it snow-white. The brown and black lemurs are 

 still larger than Lemur Catta. 



Geo. A. Thrupp. 

 1, Hyde Park Place, West, 

 Nov. 25th, 1846. 



