Wortman — Studies of Eocene Mammalia. 345 



Art. 'X^K^KN .—Studies of Eocene Mammalia in the Marsh 

 Collection^ Peahody llusetim / by J. L. Wortman. (With 

 Plates XYI and XYII.) 



[Continued from vol. xv, p. 436.] 



The first suborder, or the Cheiromyoidea, is of great inter- 

 est, inasmuch as it numbers amo7ig its representatives the very 

 curious and interesting creature commonly known as the Aye 

 Aye, now living in Madagascar (Plates XYI and XYII). This 

 species was 'first brought to tlie attention of naturalists by the 

 French traveller Sonnerat more than a hundred years ago, and 

 was for a- long time looked upon as belonging to the order 

 Podentia, or the Gnawers, closely allied to the squirrel. 



In 1862, Pichard Owen received a specimen of the animal, 

 and from a careful study of its anatomy conclusively demon- 

 strated its lemurine affinities. As we have already seen, the 

 character of its incisors and the form and general make-up of 

 its jaws are exceedingly like those of the rodents ; but in the 

 complete bony ring surrounding the orbit, as well as in the 

 prehensile extremities and the remainder of its anatomical 

 structure, it bears the unmistakable stamp of its Primate rela- 

 tionship. 



The hands are long and slender and the fingers are provided 

 with claws. The third digit of the manus is curiously modi- 

 fied, in that while of the same proportional length as the 

 others it is exceedingly slender. It has, indeed, been aptly 

 compared to a wire with a hook at its end. The animal is 

 nocturnal in its habits, inhabiting the dense forests of Mada- 

 gascar, where it is said to be rare. 



The specimen which was sent to Owen was kept in captivity 

 for some time, and Dr. Sandwith, who obtained the animal, was 

 enabled to learn its curious habits. He wrote as follows : " I 

 observe he is sensitive of cold, and likes to cover himself up in 

 a piece of flannel, although the thermometer is now often 90° in 

 the shade. He is a most interesting little animal, and from 

 close observation I have learned his habits very correctly. On 

 receiving him from Madagascar, I was told that he ate bananas; 

 so of course I fed him on them, but tried him with other fruit. 

 I found he liked dates, — which is a grand discovery, supposing 

 he be sent alive to England. Still I thought that those strong 

 rodent teeth, as large as those of a young Beaver, must have 

 been intended for some other purpose than that of trying to 

 eat his way out of a cage — the only use he seemed to make of 

 them, besides masticating soft fruits. Moreover he had other 

 peculiarities, — e. g., singularly large, naked ears, directed 

 forward, as if for offensive rather than defensive purposes ; 



