THE CLASSIFICATION OF LEMTJROIHA. 
25 ? 
position of the whole sub-order is next to the Hapale Monkeys of South America in the order of 
Primates. Then, if the figures 
or stuffed specimens of an 
Aye-Aye, a Tarsius, and a 
Slow Loris be compared, there 
is no difficulty in distinguish- 
ing them, for they differ much. 
But if a Lepilemur and a 
Galago are compared, it will 
be noticed that although they 
differ enough to be placed in 
two genera, still the distinc- 
tion is not great. So it is 
advisable to group them to- 
gether in a family 3 but the skull op the aye-aye (side and pkont yiew). (After Owen .) 
three others must belong each 
to a separate family. The scheme of Professor Mivart, who has paid much attention to these 
animals, and which we adopt, is as follows : — 
Families of the Sub-order Lemuroida and their Genera.* 
Family I. — Lemuridge 
Family II. — Nycticebidse . 
„ III. — Tarsidas 
, , IV. — CheiromydsB . 
Genera. 
Indris. 
Lepilemur. 
-h Lemur. 
Hapalemur. 
Cheirogale. 
'Galago. 
Perodicticus. 
Loris, or Stenops. 
Nycticebus. 
.Arctocebus. 
Tarsius. 
Cheiromys. 
As groups these have more or less well-defined differences. Thus, the Lemuridse have no rete 
mirabile, and, except in one species, the tail is large, and all have their hind legs longer than their 
front ones. 
The Nycticebidse have short ears and faces, and the tail is short or absent. They have a strange 
defect in the fingers (of hand and foot), the ankle is short, and there is a rete mirabile. 
As a family the Tarsidse have long ears, a long ankle, a long and slender tail, and there is a rete 
mirabile. Moreover, the fourth finger is not the longest. 
The Cheiromydse are known at once by their great front teeth, and the probe-like middle finger 
of the hand. 
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 
All the kinds of Indris, Lepilemur, Hapalemur, Lemur, and Cheirogaleus inhabit Madagascar 
and some of the small islands close to its coast, and one kind of Lemur is found in one if not in two 
of the Comoro Islands, which are between the north-west of Madagascar and the African coast, and 
nearer the island than to the continent. They have not been discovered elsewhere, and this is ex- 
tremely interesting, because, with the exception of the genus Galago, they form the entire family of 
the Lemuridse, The Galagos are not found in Madagascar, but in the woods and forests of the opposite 
* The simplicity of this classification is its great merit. The student will, however, find many other genera mentioned in 
books or placed before the specific names in museums. Thus, the beautiful Lemuroids in the British Museum of our genus. 
Indris are called Propithecus, when the animals have tails, and the genus Lemur is termed T arecict. The genus Galagu 
includes the animals called by some zoologists Otulicnus and Otogale, &c. 
