THE TARSIER. 
99 
as those of the Galago, and the tail is less thickly covered with fur, being almost devoid of hair, 
except at its extremity, where it forms a small tuft. On reference to the figure, it will be seen 
that the hands are of extraordinary length, in proportion to the size of the creature. This pecu- 
liarity is caused by a considerable elongation of the bones composing the “Tarsus,” or back 
of the hands and feet, and has earned for the animal the title of Taksiek. This peculiarity is 
more strongly developed in the hinder than in the fore-paws. 
The color of the Tarsier is a grayish-brown, with slight olive tint washed over the body. 
A stripe of deeper color surrounds the back of the head, and the face and forehead are of a 
warmer brown than the body and limbs. 
It is a native of Borneo, Celebes, the 
Philippine Islands, and Banca. From 
the latter locality it is sometimes called 
the Banca Tarsier. Another of the titles 
by which it is known, is the Podji. 
It is a tree-inhabiting animal, and 
skips among the branches with little 
quick leaps that have been likened to 
the hoppings of a frog. In order to give 
the little creature a firmer hold of the 
boughs about which it is constantly leap- 
ing, the palms of the hands are furnished 
with several cushions. The back of the 
hands are covered with soft downy fur, 
resembling the hair with which the tail is 
furnished. Excepting on the hands and 
tail, the fur is very thick and of a woolly 
character, but at the root of the tail, and 
at the wrists and ankles, it suddenly 
changes to the short downy covering. 
The true position of that very rare 
animal the Aye-aye, seems very doubt- 
ful, some naturalists placing it in the 
position which it occupies in this work, 
and others, such as Van der Hoeven, 
considering it to form a link between 
the monkeys and the rodent animals. 
As will be seen by a reference to 
the figure, in its head and general shape 
it resembles the Galagos, but in the 
number and arrangement of its teeth it 
approaches the rodent type. There are 
no canine teeth, and the incisors are 
arranged in a manner similar to those 
of the rodents, the chief difference being 
that, instead of the chisel-like edge which distinguishes the incisor teeth of the gnawing animals, 
those of the Aye-aye are sharply pointed. These curious teeth are extremely powerful, and are 
very deeply set in the jaw-bones, their sockets extending neary the entire depth of the bone. 
The color of the animal is a rusty brown on the upper portions of the body, the under 
parts, as well as the cheeks and throat, being of a light gray. The paws are nearly black. 
The fur of the body is thickly set, and is remarkable for an inner coating of downy hair of a 
golden tint, which sometimes shows itself through the outer coating. On the tail the hair is 
darker than on the body, greater in length, and in texture much coarser. The tail seems to be 
always trailed at length, and never to be set up over the body, like the well-known tail of the 
squirrel. The ears are large, and nearly destitute of hair. 
TARSIER. — Tarsias spectrum,. 
