CHIROGALE 



87 



Subfamily 3. Lemurinae. 

 GENUS CHIROGALE. MOUSE LEMURS. 



*• 8— 3> 



c — ■ 

 y- o— o> 



P. Si M.S = 36- 



CHEIROGALEUS ( !) E. Geoff., Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, XIX, 

 1812, p. 172, pi. X. Type Cheirogaleus ( !) major E. Geof- 

 froy. 



Myspithecus F. Cuv., Hist. Nat. Mamm., ed. 4°, 1833. 



Cebugale Less., Spec. Mamm., 1840, p. 207. 



Myscebus Less., Spec. Mamm., 1840, p. 207. 



Myocebus Wagn., Wiegm., Archiv., 1841, II, p. 19. 



Myslemur Blainv., Diet. Univ. Hist. Nat. Paris, VIII, 1846, p. 559. 



Opolemur Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1872, pp. 853-855, fig. 1, 

 pi. LXX. 



Chirogale F. Major, Novit. Zool., I, 1894, p. 1. 



Head round; face furred; eyes large; approximate; ears mem- 

 branaceous, projecting beyond the fur; hind limbs longer than the 

 fore limbs ; foot elongate ; nails flat, except that of second finger which 

 is pointed ; tail longer than body. Skull : mastoid region not inflated ; 

 inner upper incisor larger than outer ; last molar smaller than the first, 

 with one internal and one external cusp; inner hind cusp of molars 

 small, or absent ; palate extending beyond last molar. 



The Mouse Lemurs are small animals with tails as long or longer 

 than the body. The head is round, with large eyes situated close to- 

 gether, and the ears which are thin, stand out beyond the fur. 

 The legs are longer than the arms, and the foot is very long, 

 the astralagus, or heel bone, being remarkably elongate. The nails 

 are flat except that of the second finger which is pointed. In their 

 habits these animals are nocturnal, and during the dry season some 

 species become torpid, sleeping all the time. They are only found on 

 the island of Madagascar. During the summer a large amount of fat 

 is deposited on portions of the body at the root of the tail, enlarging 

 this part greatly, and the creature is sustained during the period of 

 hibernation by absorbing this unique store of food ; resembling in this 

 respect the Bears when they hibernate. 



